For Brad Keselowski, the long wait to return to victory lane is finally over. Keselowski contended all day and capitalized on contact between Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher to snap a 110-race winless streak with a win in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
While there was a lot of action on track, the pit lane stayed largely quiet at The Track Too Tough to Tame. Teams up and down pit road took four tires on every pit stop, out of respect to Darlington and its abrasive surface that eats away at Goodyears. NASCAR officials did not have much to do either, dishing out only a couple of noteworthy penalties.
Joey Logano Sidetracked by Speeding Penalty
While Keselowski basked in the glories of victory, his former Team Penske teammate Joey Logano wallowed in another lost weekend. It looked as though Logano was well on his way to a great finish on Sunday, finishing fourth in stage two and running in the top five for most of stage three.
But Logano’s day went south during the final pit stops of the day on lap 255 following Kyle Larson’s spin. Logano pitted the No. 22 Penske Ford from the sixth position, with the potential to restart in the top five with a good stop. However, the two-time Cup Series champion’s track position got erased by a speeding penalty, the only time all day that a driver went too fast on the pit lane.
Consequently, Logano fell back to the tail of the field on the ensuing restart with just 33 laps left, nowhere near enough time to get back to the front. Just like that, what looked like at worst a top-10 finish turned into an underwhelming 21st-place showing for the No. 22 team.
Darlington is the latest chapter in a disappointing start to the 2024 season for Logano. Through 13 races, Logano has just one top five to his name, a runner-up finish at Richmond and three top 10s. Furthermore, Darlington marks Logano’s sixth finish outside the top 20 so far in 2024. If the playoffs started today, Logano would be on the outside looking in, 30 points below the cutline.
The two-time champion and the No. 22 Penske team have some serious adjustments to become a part of the championship conversation.
Reddick Adds Insult to Injury With Commitment Line Violation
Reddick stood out as the dominant driver at Darlington, leading 174 of 293 laps as well as winning stage two. But it all went wrong after Reddick made contact with Buescher…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …