NASCAR Cup Series Race Report - Nashville SuperspeedwayJune 26, 2023TRACK: NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
CINDRIC'S THOUGHTS: "Bit of a missed opportunity. This is one of those where I feel like we’ve had our share of issues over the last couple months, and having a gear indicator go out causing us to speed on pit road after we get track position I think is the one that is the most frustrating so far. The guys did a great job all night getting our Snap-on Ford Mustang better. I thought we were good enough to fight inside the top-15 by the end of the race, but that speeding penalty put us behind pretty late in the game and we had to settle with a result that we're probably not happy with. There’s light at the end of the tunnel – we’ll keep chipping away.”
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney raced his way into the top-10 of the running order within the first 30 laps Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway despite battling a loose-handling Ford Mustang on the opening run. As green flag pit stops cycled around the halfway point of Stage 1, Blaney brought the No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford to pit road on lap 42 for a four-tire stop and a round of adjustments but began the ensuing run on the tight side resulting in a 13th-place finish in the opening stage. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler dialed in another round of adjustments on the second trip to pit road on the night during the stage break, allowing Blaney to make his way back into the top-10 in the first few laps of Stage 2. With the balance starting to settle in over the course of a long, green-flag run to begin the stage, Blaney was called to pit road on lap 135 for a scheduled four-tire stop but the caution flag flew after making his way off pit road, trapping him a lap down. Blaney took the wave around to rejoin the lead lap but restarted in the middle of the pack behind a host of cars a lap down. On the ensuing restart on lap 147, the front of the field stacked up and Blaney was sent sliding through the infield grass and head-on into the inside wall, bringing an abrupt end to the No. 12 team’s night. BLANEY'S THOUGHTS: "It's a shame, ending our night early. I thought we finally got decent air at the start of the second stage. I don't really know what happened. Someone checked up on the restart, I guess. I kind of checked up, got hit from behind. I didn't know if they were wrecking, and I just couldn't get it straightened out. When I got out of the grass, I thought I was going to come back around, and that I'd be ok. Just never got back right. Happy to be all right, but I hate it for the Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Stinks to go home early." JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano started Sunday night’s Ally 400 from the outside of row two and made his way up to third on the leaderboard in the opening laps at Nashville Superspeedway, but a loose-handling condition during the first run of the night saw the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang fall out of the top-five before green flag stops began to cycle. Crew chief Paul Wolfe took a big swing on adjustments during the first pit stop on lap 43 but Logano’s struggles on corner exit continued through the end of the first stage, resulting in a 14th-place finish. Following another four-tire stop and a round of adjustments under caution, Logano maintained his track position during the first green-flag run of Stage 2 before pitting on lap 135 during the green flag pit cycle. The caution flag flew shortly after Logano made his way off pit road but was able to take the wave around to rejoin the lead lap prior to the ensuing restart. After crossing the line 17th in Stage 2, Logano battled his way back into the top-10 on lap 194 as the balance began to improve. The No. 22 team opted to pit later in the green-flag cycle during the final stage as Logano made his way up to fourth in the running order before being called to pit road on lap 244 for the final stop of the night, but the race stayed green the rest of the way as the Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang settled for a 19th-place finish. LOGANO'S THOUGHTS: "The end result wasn't the way that we wanted to come out of the off-week, but this No. 22 Shell Pennzoil team battled all night - whether it was going to work on the balance or going with strategy calls to get us some sort of track position. Our struggles in the corners hurt us on the longer runs and, unfortunately, that's how this one played out for us. We had no choice but to take big swings on adjustments with the few chances we did have to work on our Ford Mustang and it didn't fall our way."
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