Joey Logano explains how he didn't run out of gas during NASCAR overtime attempts at Nashville
Joey Logano won his first Cup Series race of the season at the Nashville on Sunday but came close to running out of gas before crossing the finish line. While speaking with reporters after the race, Logano explained how he was able to win and not run out of fuel in the five-overtime race.
“I thought, okay, I was in good shape. Going to take the white off of 4 and then they threw the caution,” Logano said. “I still don’t know what the caution was for. Then we had to do it again. Had to not only do the fuel mileage piece of it, but also you had [Tyler] Reddick with tires there at the end, and he was able to make some pretty big moves, and going down the backstretch it started stumbling.
“I was like, oh, no. Was able to throw a nice block on him, but even off of 4, it stumbled and stumbled, and then it kind of got like a quick little bit of gas, I guess, and it kind of gave me a little squirt and then started stumbling again across the line and just couldn’t get to the line quick enough. If that start-finish line was into 1, we don’t win the race; we finish third or fourth. Definitely as close as you can cut it for sure.”
Joey Logano took a chance to get his first win
Logano was then asked about going 110 laps on one tank of fuel. “I don’t know. Like I said, it takes a little bit of everything,” he explained. “I think that’s really what it was. There was obviously a lot of cautions within that period. A lot of cautions. Like I said, we didn’t feel comfortable about it, but you go for it, and it’s pretty risky when you think about where we were in the playoff grid. You really can’t afford to have a bad one, but gosh, it’s really hard to pit when you’re in the lead and you’re in position to win the race.”
With the victory on Sunday, Logano has secured a spot in the playoffs. He finished 0.068 seconds ahead of rookie Zane Smith, and the race included 31 extra laps with 15 total cautions. Logano is looking to win his third Cup Series championship. He won his first title in 2018 and claimed his second in 2022.