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Sport
Jim Utter

NASCAR Cup Gateway: Logano outduels Busch to win inaugural race

Busch had taken control of the race, but a late caution from a wreck involving Kevin Harvick sent Sunday’s race into a two-lap overtime and allowed Logano a chance to attack the Joe Gibbs Toyota driver.

The 2018 Cup champion lined up alongside Busch on the restart and got a big push from Penske Ford team-mate Ryan Blaney which allowed him to quickly move into the lead.

Busch then used a crossover move to get back in front of Logano as the two nearly touched, but got loose in the process as Logano dived beneath him and back into the lead.

Logano took the checkered flag 0.665 seconds ahead of Busch to earn his second points-paying win of the 2022 season - having won the non-championship Clash race in the LA Coliseum and Darlington's Goodyear 400.

“It doesn’t get much better than that. Racing for the lead like that with Kyle was a lot of fun, crossing each other back and forth,” said Logano after securing the 28th win of his career.

“I knew it was coming. If I did it to him, I knew he would do it to me.

“We crossed back and forth there a couple times in the last lap. It’s nice to get a few wins on the season here and start collecting those playoff points.

Logano said he was hoping Blaney would line up behind him on the late restarts so the two could work together.

“He did a good team-mate move there and then being able to push me and give Team Penske a chance to win the race,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to race here, and looking forward to coming back.”

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Snickers Toyota Camry (Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images)

Logano is now the fourth driver with multiple wins this season, joining Ross Chastain, William Byron and Denny Hamlin.

Kurt Busch ended up third, Blaney fourth and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-five.

Blaney had finished second to fellow Penske driver Austin Cindric in Stage 1. The Cup rookie took the lead from poleman Chase Briscoe when the Stewart-Haas Ford driver had a left-rear tyre go down and was forced into a green-flag pit stop that put him a lap down - although he stayed out and took a wave-around in the break between Stages 1 and 2. 

Following the restart, Blaney took the lead from Cindric, but the race was quickly paused nine laps later when Chastain punted Denny Hamlin into the wall. The JGR driver lost three laps to repairs.

Kyle Busch stayed out and inherited the lead the first time in the race, with Logano second and Blaney third - until the 28-year-old had a left-rear puncture, spun and tagged the Turn 2 wall which brought out a caution. 

Another caution followed soon after when Chastain tried a three-wide move for position on lap 102 that sent Chase Elliott for a spin and also collected Bubba Wallace.

Wallace then spun in Turn 3 after contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr to place the race under caution.

Several drivers elected to pit, but Kurt Busch stayed out and inherited a lead he'd hold to the end of the stage from Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch.

Truex stayed out to lead at the start of Stage 3 ahead of Kyle Busch and Almirola, but the order was scrambled again when Tyler Reddick spun off Turn 2 to bring out a caution on lap 183.

Kurt Busch, 23XI Racing, Monster Energy Toyota Camry (Photo by: Jasen Vinlove / NKP / Motorsport Images)

A two-tyre stop for Erik Jones meant he took the lead at the restart, followed by Kyle Busch, Logano and Hendrick Chevrolet team-mates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson. Almirola, who lined up sixth, was the first car that took four new tyres.

Kyle Busch powered to the lead on the restart, before another caution resulting from a spin for Stenhouse.

With 32 laps remaining, Logano got around Kyle Busch on the inside to take the lead for the first time in the race. But soon after another caution, following contact between Cole Custer and Todd Gilliland, Busch got past Logano to reclaim the lead.

With four laps remaining, Harvick wrecked in Turn 3 - blaming a blown brake rotor - to bring out a caution and send the race into a two-lap overtime that allowed Logano to fight back and ultimately claim the win.

NASCAR Cup Gateway race results (245 laps)

Cla Driver Manufacturer Time Gap
1 United States Joey Logano Ford 3:07'33.447  
2 United States Kyle Busch Toyota 3:07'34.102 0.655
3 United States Kurt Busch Toyota 3:07'34.360 0.913
4 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 3:07'34.384 0.937
5 United States Aric Almirola Ford 3:07'34.922 1.475
6 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 3:07'35.304 1.857
7 United States Erik Jones Chevrolet 3:07'35.464 2.017
8 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 3:07'35.481 2.034
9 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 3:07'35.566 2.119
10 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 3:07'35.623 2.176
11 United States Austin Cindric Ford 3:07'35.764 2.317
12 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 3:07'35.924 2.477
13 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 3:07'36.021 2.574
14 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 3:07'36.196 2.749
15 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 3:07'36.306 2.859
16 United States Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 3:07'36.331 2.884
17 Zane Smith Ford 3:07'36.436 2.989
18 United States Michael McDowell Ford 3:07'36.648 3.201
19 United States William Byron Chevrolet 3:07'36.671 3.224
20 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 3:07'36.832 3.385
21 United States Chase Elliott Chevrolet 3:07'36.840 3.393
22 United States Todd Gilliland Ford 3:07'36.952 3.505
23 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 3:07'37.115 3.668
24 United States Chase Briscoe Ford 3:07'37.131 3.684
25 United States Harrison Burton Ford 3:07'37.265 3.818
26 United States Bubba Wallace Toyota 3:07'37.449 4.002
27 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 3:07'37.490 4.043
28 United States Josh Bilicki Chevrolet 3:07'37.858 4.411
29 United States Cole Custer Ford 3:07'38.522 5.075
30 United States B.J. McLeod Ford 3:07'38.782 5.335
31 United States Parker Kligerman Ford 3:07'39.166 5.719
32 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 3:07'42.100 4 Laps
33 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 2:55'58.358 10 Laps
34 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 3:07'39.756 11 Laps
35 United States Cody Ware Ford 2:03'45.592 79 Laps
36 United States Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 51'25.618 173 Laps

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