Joey Logano leapfrogged into the top-10 standings after winning Saturday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. The result marks his second win in just four races.
Logano had a podium start in the season-opening Daytona 500, but struggled to make headway ever since. At his lowest, the former champion was out of the Chase cutoff in 20th, while Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney consistently finished top-10.
With his latest win, Logano has tied Blaney for two wins this season. The No.22 driver addressed the resurgence in his victory lane interview, saying,
“Don’t let the boys get hot, we’re pretty strong right now. It’s awesome to see the speed in the No. 22 again….we’ve had a great car here the last five races. We haven’t been able to capitalize with a win, we’ve been so close but sweet redemption today.”
“We got a strong team, no doubt, and Paul made some great calls there. The 19 was better than us in that last run so I was trying to just manage the tires and yeah, kind of a fun back and forth….it’s getting the points that we need. This is important, we need to get ourselves back in the top-10 and I assume this gets us pretty close,” he added via NASCAR’s official website.
Chase Briscoe finished runner-up after leading 171 laps. Meanwhile, Joey Logano’s teammate Austin Cindric grabbed his second top-5 of the season, finishing third.
Logano made the most gains with a four-place jump in the standings, placing ninth with 659 points to his name. Pole sitter Ryan Blaney won Stage 1 before fading to a 13th-place finish. To his credit, Blaney posted the fastest lap of the race.
Chase Briscoe frustrated by defeat to Joey Logano
Chase Briscoe logged his fourth runner-up finish of the season at Richmond. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is also on a four-race streak in the top-10.
Driving the No.19 Toyota, Briscoe was the fastest driver on track, but was led astray by brake issues in his final run. Logano, who led on six different occasions, took over for good during a pit stop with 25 laps left.
“I thought that last run, I was a little bit better than him (Logano). It’s weird to be mad running second here, this has been a real struggle for me at this place…but just to be that close and not get it done is still frustrating,” Briscoe said via aforementioned source.
The result marks Chase Briscoe’s maiden top-10 at Richmond Raceway. He currently rounds out the top-5 in the standings, with a Chicagoland win bolstering his stats.
Next up, Joey Logano heads to New Hampshire Speedway, a track where he began on pole last season, before claiming a stage win and finishing fourth.
Read More:
Richmond Raceway Gives Denny Hamlin’s Family a Permanent Place in NASCAR History College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in NASCAR, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!