INDIANAPOLIS – Joey Logano stole the opening stage of Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a pit strategy call, after the 50-lap segment ended under caution.
A violent crash between Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski – sparked when Keselowski pinched Jones against the curb in turn two, which led to Jones spinning and collecting Keselowski in his wake – led to the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford slamming into the inside tire barrier and landing half on top of the tire pack.
Keselowski climbed out of his demolished race car under his own power, but the third caution of the race was displayed as a result with a lap and a half to go in the stage, freezing the field as a result.
That left Logano, who had stayed out on track during a previous caution at lap 42 when Landon Cassill blew a right-front tire and smacked the wall in turn two, out in front of the field with his No. 22 Ford.
Logano’s stage win was his eighth of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Kyle Larson came to the green-checkered and caution flags in second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney and Ryan Newman, who stayed out along with Logano and gained six valuable stage points in his quest to jump inside the 16-driver playoff field. He started the day tied with Daniel Suarez.
Jimmie Johnson, another driver who entered the day on the outside of the playoffs looking in, finished sixth in the opening stage and scored five bonus points for his No. 48 Chevrolet team.
Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Chris Buescher completed the points-scoring drivers in the top 10 at the first stage break of the afternoon.
The stage was first slowed by a lap-11 caution, after playoff bubble driver Daniel Suarez popped the outside wall off the second corner and sustained right-side damage to his No. 41 Ford.