Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Race: Food City 300
Date: August 18, 2017
No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 2nd
Finish: 9th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 300/300
Laps Led: 0
Owner's Points Position (behind leader): 1st (+102)
Recap: Joey Logano started second and finished ninth in the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Saturday night's Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Logano started the race battling a Ford Mustang that he described as "super loose" on corner entry and exit. Crew chief Greg Erwin opted to adjust with wedge and air pressure, attempting to correct Logano's biggest deficit, which was corner entry. Logano ended the first stage in the third position. The adjustments didn't prove to be enough as the No. 22 Discount Tire Mustang continued to battle a loose condition through the second run. The team worked on additional adjustments, which they would implement on a lap 126 pit stop consisting of track bar and wedge, as Logano reported the handling of the car had gotten looser over the run than it was in the first stint of the night. Unfortunately, Logano was one of four drivers deemed too fast entering pit road in section four and would have to restart from the tale-end of the field. Additional trouble would strike the team when a cut right front tire would bring the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford to pit road under green flag conditions, dropping Logano two laps down to the leaders. At the end of the second stage, Logano and the team would elect to take the wave around, gaining one of the two laps back, and over the course of the next run, work themselves into the Lucky Dog position, earning the free-pass at lap 217. The team would pit at lap 220, taking their last set of sticker tires for the run to the finish. Logano worked back into the top-10 before a caution at lap 288 where the team would elect to pit for a set of scuff tires which were 15 laps newer and had cooled down. Logano would rally back up to the ninth position before the conclusion of the race at lap 300.
Quote: "We just didn't have the balance on the start of the race and we struggled to find it in the first couple of runs. Then we had to pit with the cut right front tire and really battle back to make up our two-laps and get ourselves in a position to race for a top-10 finish. Just wasn't a good night overall, but the guys didn't give up and that's important when you find yourself two laps down."