Back in Victory Lane and $1,000,000 richer! Joey Logano led from the pole and held everyone off to get the win at North Wilkesboro. It is the second time that Logano has won the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Joey Logano didn’t have to worry too much tonight. NASCAR had some promising results early with the new, softer option tire. However, in the night with cool temperatures, the difference in lap times wasn’t great enough to make a difference.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson charged late in this race to challenge Logano. It just wasn’t mean to be. With that clean air and track position, Logano secured the win.
A huge win for Team Penske and Joey Logano. Struggles galore this season. Now, they have positive momentum to lean on and make a run to the playoffs.
First half starts with a bang
At the expense of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. this race got started with fireworks. Getting into it with Kyle Busch, Rowdy didn’t take the contact too kindly. So, he put the 47 car into the wall and ended their day two laps into the race.
The two drivers got into it before the race really got going. But it helped change up the strategy. Teams immediately took off their softer, option tires and put on the harder prime tires. It was a move that let some teams save those red walls for later in the race.
Stenhouse Jr. said he was going to sit and wait for Rowdy, and he did. But on the track, it was all Joey Logano early in this race. The pole-sitter was just happy to race in that clean air.
Even with a little drama early, things weren’t crazy in this race. It was a lot of good green flag racing that resulted in a really fun All-Star Race and finish.
Kyle Larson almost pulled off the unthinkable
On Sunday, Kyle Larson qualified for the Fast 6 in Indy 500 qualifying. He had the fastest single-lap speed of any rookie in the history of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Then he had to fly to North Wilkesboro and race on the short track.
Two completely different series, completely different styles of racing, and completely different cars – it didn’t bother Larson at all. In fact, he was rather comfortable as he flew across multiple states to make the All-Star Race.
Larson didn’t practice or qualify his own race car so he started in the rear. That didn’t matter much for him and his team. That car was dialed in and only got better as the runs went longer.
In the end, Larson didn’t have enough speed on his scuffed red-wall tires. He faded while battling Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano late in the All-Star Race. The fact he was able to qualify P5 at Indy and then come back to finish top-5 in the All-Star Race – it just shows how good he really is.
Joey Logano drives away late at North Wilkesboro
The race for the lead did not give fans what they wanted. Part of that could be the night time weather and cool temps. The idea was for this new option tire to be quick early on and to break apart and get much slower late in a run. That didn’t play out that way, though.
Eventually, the two tires more or less evened out. It was clear that no one was going to win without being on the red tires, anyway. I do think it is a step in the right direction. Something between what we saw today and what we saw at Bristol will provide the perfect tire compound.
Again, Denny Hamlin made a late run. He might have been the only car capable of getting close to Logano. He just didn’t have enough speed to catch and pass the 22 car.
This is a huge step in the right direction for Joey Logano and his team. They haven’t won a points race since Atlanta in the Spring of 2023. This isn’t a points race, but it is something to hang their hat on. Is this the start of a team about to go on a run?
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