Joey Logano Makes the Most of an Inauspicious Start

LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 25: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, leads Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire.   Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images

LOUDON, NH – SEPTEMBER 25: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, leads Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire.
Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images

There’s no statistical category for “saves” in NASCAR racing, but if there were, Joey Logano would be the clear leader at New Hampshire.

With perseverance, Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske outfit turned a potentially disastrous day into a respectable finish and gave themselves a modicum of breathing room in the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.

After a so-so qualifying effort, Logano started 15th in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 and quickly went backwards. On lap 114 of a long green-flag run to start the race, leader Martin Truex Jr. passed Logano to put the No. 22 Ford a lap down. Continue reading

Harvick Gets Stress-Relieving Chase Victory at New Hampshire

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Remember last week, when Kevin Harvick was trapped a lap down at Chicagoland Speedway, finished 20th and fell out of the top-12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings?

Remember last year, when Harvick crashed at Chicagoland and ran out of fuel while leading at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and had to win at Dover to advance in the Chase?

That’s all moot, now that Harvick redeemed himself with a victory in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire, the second race in the Chase. Continue reading

Friday New Hampshire Notebook

Aside

Print

Wreck in practice forces Chaser Austin Dillon to backup car

A wreck in practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the last thing Austin Dillon needed.

After a 14th-place finish last Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in the first race of the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Dillon needs a strong run at New Hampshire to escape the bottom four in the standings.

But with the Round of 16 elimination race looming Oct. 1 at Dover, Dillon had his weekend start catastrophically at the Magic Mile, site of Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway Preview

Aside

320539

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race 400.5 miles over 267 laps in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 on Sunday, September 18th at Chicagoland Speedway. Television coverage begins at 2 pm ET on NBC Sports Network with a green flag around 2:30 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Cowabunga!

The Chase Kicks Off At Chicagoland With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400

The field is set and the drivers are ready to compete in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which kicks off with Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Continue reading

Hamlin Wins at Richmond, as Two Rookies Advance to the Chase

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Denny Hamlin won a wild race at his home track, and the top-four Chase hopefuls entering Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 all held serve at Richmond International Raceway in an event that ended in overtime after a record 16 cautions.

Jamie McMurray locked up a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a seventh-place finish, and Austin Dillon did likewise with a 13th-place run.

Sunoco rookies Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher both weathered some tense moments to qualify for NASCAR’s ten-race playoff, the first time two rookies have ever been included in the Chase field—and the first time any rookie has made the Chase since Hamlin accomplished the feat in 2006. Continue reading