DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joey Logano felt like he was fighting from behind through much of Sunday’s Daytona 500, but the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion persevered to finish third in the Great American Race.
“The whole race just didn’t really go as well as I would have hoped,” Logano explained. “In the first stage, when everyone stayed out and made it, we didn’t go for that. So, we lost points there. And it kind of still set us back. You know, we had a hard time just getting back up there. We had a great pit cycle, but no one was great with us.
“So, we lost all the position we gained on pit road when I got swallowed up by the field. And then made a great move at the end, got three wide on top, got to the front. I had an opportunity to get underneath the Spire cars. It felt like it was the right move, I made it, and the car was just slow at the end. I think the damage I got from the wreck earlier hurt it more than I expected when I put it back out in the wind which made me go back a little bit.”
Still, Logano salvaged a productive points race to start the season despite wrecking under the checkered flag.
“I’m not upset. I mean, we finished third in the Daytona 500,” the Team Penske Ford driver said. “Honestly, we’ve led a lot of laps in this race and we haven’t seen the finish in years. So… I saw the finish. I ended up in the same place, you know, the infield care center, but I saw the finish this time and that’s much better.”
Mixed Emotions
Bubba Wallace had mixed emotions following Sunday’s Daytona 500. Last year’s Brickyard 400 winner was disappointed that he got shuffled back to a 10th-place finish at the end of the race, but ecstatic for his team co-owner Michael Jordan and teammate Tyler Reddick, who won the race for the 23XI Racing team.
“Man, I don’t know what to say. First of all, hats off to the 45 group. I don’t want my emotions to take away from the monumental day they just accomplished,” said Wallace, who led a race high 40 laps. “Happy birthday, MJ (Jordan). That’s a massive birthday present. I just noticed that Chumba Casino was on his car so that’s two crown jewel wins for them, so that’s pretty cool.
“I thought this was our week, the best 500 I’ve ever had, and come up short, sucks. But couldn’t be more proud of the team. Pumped for Xfinity to jump on board the way they did and debut their first primary race in the 500. Led a lot of laps, lap leader, I believe. It was a good day for us, but damn. Try again next year.”
Smith’s Charge
Zane Smith led nine laps in the Front Row Motorsports No. 38 and was in the hunt to win at the finish before getting shuffled back to sixth at the checkered flag.
“It’s painful that the 45 was, I guess, in my position, but I know I didn’t have the run on the 9 that I needed to win and so I tried backing up to any help I could get, and then obviously it fell apart there at the end,” Smith said. “All in all, it’s a great growing day for us and some great points scored, but frustrating to be that close and just miss out.
“It’s not every day you have a shot to win the Daytona 500, so that feels great and I feel like there were some great points scored, just not quite enough.”
Buescher’s Day
After a crash on Thursday night, Chris Buescher was forced to a backup RFK Racing Ford. He started last (41st) on Sunday and finished seventh.
“It was nuts right there at the finish. I’m really proud of everybody to take this Body Guard Ford Mustang from dead last on the field and run it up to a top 10 finish,” Buescher said. “It’s impressive. This team did such a phenomenal job. We are continuously in the hunt to win these things. We had a teammate with us this time, but just couldn’t close it. There were a couple good blocks from some others that really stalled us out.”
Top 10 For Berry
Josh Berry finished ninth in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
“We really just tried to stay with Chris (Beuscher) and Brad (Keselowski) the best I could, but it seemed like I could stay pretty close to them but whoever was behind me would lose me and we couldn’t get it going like we wanted,” Berry said. “All in all, it was a solid final stage. We had a complete disaster in the first stage and rebounded really well and gave ourselves a chance at it at the end.”
How Elliott Went Wrong
Chase Elliott led the Daytona within sight of the checkered flag when it all went wrong. Tyler Reddick drafted past him and then things got worse.
“It seemed really fortunate to get through the first crash, and that opened the door to somehow get to the lead. But then I got pushed clear and I think the No. 38 was behind me and pushed me clear by everybody down the back, and then it was just he and I,” Elliott explained. “We got a good ways out there and we were just in a lot of trouble because momentum had shifted.
“At that point, I was just on extreme defense, and then from there, I was just trying to defend as best I could without crashing myself, but everybody else ended up crashing anyway. Maybe I should have just wrecked myself trying to block. But, yeah, I hate that. Obviously very close but close doesn’t cut it.”
Elliott crashed across the finish line to finish fourth.
Byron Finishes 12th
William Byron entered the 68th running of the Daytona 500 looking to become the first driver to win the Great American Race three years in a row.
However, Byron was involved in multiple crashes while driving his backup Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet because of an accident during his Thursday qualifying race.
Still, Byron fought all race and finished 12th.
“We had a lot of damage on our car from the Stage One incident,” Byron explained. “Our right-front suspension was bent, so the car was driving really weird and it was just super, super loose, as well as tight as the same time. I couldn’t believe we had a shot there at the end. I thought that was amazing. It was a great strategy with the fuel sequence, and I thought, man, we have a shot with lining up on the front two rows.
“That’s all you can ask for. I thought Tyler (Reddick) was out to a pretty decent lead on the restart, and I thought the bottom was the place to be. There was one time I got clear and I probably could have taken the middle, but I didn’t know if the balance of my car could handle being there.
“I just had to keep my car straight, so I thought if I tried to make a block, I would wreck. It was just incredible that we had a shot at it there at the end.”
