Logano Keeps Momentum Going

Joey Logano (18) battles James Buescher during the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Michigan Int'l Speedway Saturday afternoon. (NASCAR Photo)

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Joey Logano held off a last-lap challenge from James Buescher to win his fifth NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season Saturday afternoon at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

Driving the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Logano found himself out front during a restart with five laps left. Logano got the jump on the field, but Buescher lined up behind him and began to follow in Logano’s tire tracks.

Coming to the white flag Logano and Buescher had left the rest of the field in the dust, allowing them to settle it amongst themselves. Buescher got below Logano as the pair entered turn one on the final lap, but Buescher couldn’t make it stick and fell back into second.

From there, Logano was able to pull away down the backstretch and beat Buescher to the finish line by .208 of a second. It was victory for Logano and manufacturer Toyota at Michigan in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

“I knew the 30 (Buescher) was waiting on it,” Logano said, referencing the last lap of the race. “I knew the game he was playing. He was waiting for the end to try and make that pass. I started to block and I said, no, if I get the momentum and I pin him down there I’ll get a big enough lead off of two. It worked out perfectly.”

The victory was Logano’s second-straight in NASCAR national series competition and continued his recent stretch of strong runs that includes a victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway last weekend.

“We’ve been on a roll lately and we’ve just got to keep it going. This is a lot of fun,” Logano said.

Buescher, the winner of the season opening Nationwide event at Daytona Int’l Speedway, said he gave Logano his best shot on the final lap.

“We just didn’t have all the speed we needed getting into the center of the corner,” Buescher said. “I thought I was going to get Joey on that last lap. I peeked to the inside, but when I got down onto the flatter part of the banking it just got loose.”

Kurt Busch was involved in an accident on the first lap of the race, but was able to rebound and finish third at the two-mile asphalt oval. Cole Whitt and first-time polesitter Austin Dillon completed the top five.

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Posted by NSSN Staff on Jun 16 2012 Filed under Latest Headlines, NASCAR, Nationwide, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.