Joey Logano moves William Byron to win at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 on Sunday afternoon.
Darlington Raceway is one of the original speedways since the beginning of NASCAR. The track in Darlington, South Carolina is the perfect setting for a throwback weekend. Drivers pay tribute to the legends of the past with historic paint schemes that make fans reminisce about the glory days of the past. For the drivers, winning at Darlington has a significance that makes the action on the track much more exciting.
Joey Logano Earns the Pole to Start the Goodyear 400
Joey Logano and Kyle Larson held the front row for the start of the 400-mile race. Kyle Larson was able to make a pass on Joey Logano to lead the first lap. Larson led the first 32 laps when the competition caution came out.
Logano returned to the lead coming out of the caution to take control of the first segment. After a Kyle Larson spin, Logano continued to pace the field leading thirty consecutive laps to win the first stage.
Logano Continues Leading the Start of the Second Stage
Continuing to hold down the lead in the second segment, Joey Logano led the opening forty laps to a green flag pitting cycle.
Martin Truex Jr gathered the lead coming out of the pitting cycle, followed closely by Ross Chastain. Truex Jr struggled to move past lapped traffic allowing Chastain to make the pass with 20 laps remaining in the segment.
After this Chastain’s pass for the lead, Brad Keselowski lost a tire and run up the track into Kyle Busch. This ended the day for both drivers as both cars headed to the garage.
Chastain kept leading through the caution and went unscathed to the end of the second stage to win.
Denny Hamlin Starts the Third Stage in the Lead
Denny Hamlin beat his competitors off pit road to take the lead in the third segment. He led the first 48 laps of the final stage and eventually came down the pit road for service.
Tyler Reddick cycled into the lead, but not for long as a caution came out with Alex Bowman hitting the wall. On the following restart, Martin Truex Jr had to check up on the backstretch and collected five other drivers for the biggest wreck of the day.
Coming out of the caution, William Byron gained the lead on Joey Logano and the race was on for the checkered flag. Logano never let Byron get too far in front, The strategy worked out for Logano in the end.
Joey Logano Moves William Byron to Win at Darlington
As Byron’s tires faded away, Joey Logano was right on his tail with two laps remaining. Logano had a run on William Byron coming into the third turn. Logano got to his bumper and pushed him up the track. With Byron in the wall, Logano moved by with ease taking the white flag. There was nothing anyone else could do as Joey Logano took his machine around the circuit to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
It was an action-packed race on Sunday with many different drivers having a go at the race lead. Darlington is a track meant for the conditioned driver. It is a war of attrition and drivers who take care of their car always have a shot to win at the end of the race.
Joey Logano is a good example, as he stayed out of trouble throughout the day. With two laps to go, he found his way to win the race. The victory was huge for Joey Logano as his first career win at Darlington Raceway.