Backstretch Motorsports

LOUDON, N. H. — Sometimes, the sun shines even though it’s raining.

Ask young Joey Logano. A late-race rainstorm stopped the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 after 273 of the scheduled 301 laps, giving Logano his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

The 19-year-old rookie, who turned 19 on May 24, was probably the only happy driver when NASCAR announced the race official, but veterans of the sport would quickly tell the youngster to enjoy his win because “there’s no telling how long it might be before he wins another one.”

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli, Logano’s mentor and crew chief on the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, a veteran of this sport’s tremendous emotional peaks and valleys, probably told his rosy-cheeked driver, “You take em any way you can get ‘em, kid.”

Even though Logano never challenged any of the race leaders, he raced his way back into contention after a blown tire and an untimely pit stop put him a lap down.

He eventually was the “Lucky Dog,” which put him back on the lead lap and in position to gamble on fuel mileage as reports of impending rain rolled through the pit area like tumbleweeds.

Actually, Logano’s car was the last in a group of cars who rolled the dice on fuel. Ryan Newman was the leader with some 50 laps to go but had to pit.

Bobby Labonte had a turn out front before his thirsty Ask.com Ford asked for fuel.

Logano’s victory makes him the youngest driver ever to win a Sprint Cup race. That in itself came as no surprise to fans at this one-mile oval a couple hours from Boston. This track is Logano’s “home” track since he grew up not too far from here in Middletown, Conn.

He has been pegged as the “next” Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson with his past success in other NASCAR series. He won the championship in the developmental Camping World East Series in 2007 and moved to the Nationwide Series last year, where he has won three times.

He has struggled at times this season but has also shown signs of tremendous potential. Sunday’s win was a windfall of luck, which follows the wind and the rain from time to time.

Jeff Gordon was second after running up front all afternoon, and Kurt Busch was next.

They were followed by David Reutimann, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne.

Casey Mears was 11th and Juan Pablo Montoya was 12th, just ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Mark Martin.

An overcast New England sky cast an ominous shadow over the 43-car starting field for Sunday’s race. The crowd of over 100,000 had the same thoughts as the drivers… would the New England weather allow the race to be run? As the field took the green flag, they were racing against another green, the rainy green of weather radar that lurked off the coast as a potential threat.

Gordon jumped out front early for the lead and then the older Busch Brother, Kurt, took the top spot. Greg Biffle passed Gordon for second, and Johnson was fourth. They were followed by Newman, Carl Edwards, Stewart, Montoya, the younger Busch brother, Kyle, and Reutimann.

Patrick Carpentier hit the retaining wall in turn two at lap 15 to bring out the first caution of the afternoon. Busch maintained the lead on the restart at lap 19. Two laps later, Jamie McMurray lost control between turns two and three and slammed the outside retaining wall. Gordon was ahead on the restart at lap 25 this time around.

They made just three laps this time before AJ Allmendinger spun in turn three. It was the third caution period in just a few laps, but the laps that were run were dandies.

Under NASCAR’s new double-file, shootout-style restart procedure, Gordon, Busch, Biffle, Montoya and others were two-abreast around the track.

Gordon still led when the race resumed at lap 31, but Busch quickly went back out front.

NASCAR added a competition caution at lap 47 to allow the teams to check tire wear. A hard rain Saturday night washed away the rubber put down during several preliminary races.

On the restart at lap 50, Johnson took the lead for the first time with teammate Gordon next and young Busch third, then brother Kurt, Martin, Biffle, Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth.

Another caution slowed the field when Michael Waltrip was turned by Scott Speed at lap 59.

Johnson led on the restart at lap 64. He moved ahead of teammate Gordon by about one second, but at this point in the race, he certainly appeared to be the dominant car.

Another caution fell at the halfway point of the race, 151 laps completed of the 301 to be run, and a few drops of rain showed up on windshields. Johnson had led to this point, but both Gordon and Kurt Busch took two tires to beat Johnson back on the track while he took four tires.

The race started again on lap 157 with Gordon in front. He was followed by Busch, Johnson, Stewart, Earnhardt, Kyle Busch, Truex, Edwards, Martin and Reutimann.

NASCAR Race Number 17
Unofficial Race Results for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 - Sunday, June 28, 2009
New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, NH - 1.058 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 273 Laps - 288.834 Miles - Purse: $5,423,189

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 24 20 Joey Logano # Home Depot Toyota 273 190 5 84.8 $276,201 Running 1 10
2 2 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 273 175 5 130.9 $207,226 Running 6 64
3 4 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 273 170 5 123.2 $146,675 Running 2 28
4 14 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 273 160 94.1 $146,423 Running
5 1 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet 273 160 5 117.5 $134,548 Running 1 40
6 36 09 Brad Keselowski Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet 273 150 67.9 $100,350 Running
7 9 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 273 146 108.4 $140,673 Running
8 26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. AAA/Penske Truck Rental Dodge 273 142 93.8 $113,510 Running
9 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet 273 148 10 125.0 $142,751 Running 2 93
10 13 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 273 134 100.0 $126,848 Running
11 21 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 273 130 73.4 $99,400 Running
12 12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 273 132 5 97.9 $119,073 Running 1 6
13 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet 273 124 98.4 $97,950 Running
14 11 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet 273 126 5 98.7 $90,000 Running 1 1
15 7 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 273 123 5 79.0 $96,150 Running 1 1
16 35 34 John Andretti Taco Bell Chevrolet 273 115 50.6 $89,150 Running
17 27 43 Reed Sorenson McDonald’s McCafe Dodge 273 117 5 73.5 $117,476 Running 1 1
18 8 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 273 114 5 79.3 $96,075 Running 1 1
19 5 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 273 106 82.8 $125,131 Running
20 16 33 Clint Bowyer The Hartford Chevrolet 273 103 77.6 $89,175 Running
21 28 96 Bobby Labonte Ask.com Ford 273 105 5 66.9 $106,704 Running 1 9
22 10 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 273 97 78.6 $121,490 Running
23 18 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota 273 94 64.1 $94,073 Running
24 29 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 273 91 53.7 $86,250 Running
25 34 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota 272 93 5 54.1 $97,210 Running 1 1
26 23 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 272 90 5 51.2 $85,650 Running 1 1
27 43 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 272 82 45.6 $77,325 Running
28 32 12 David Stremme No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge 272 79 55.4 $109,515 Running
29 6 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevrolet 270 81 5 71.1 $104,379 Running 1 17
30 33 98 Paul Menard Moen/Menards Ford 267 73 42.7 $106,906 Running
31 15 31 Jeff Burton LENOX Tools Chevrolet 251 70 61.1 $120,106 Running
32 30 44 A J Allmendinger Berlin City Auto Group Dodge 238 67 35.3 $73,050 Running
33 19 26 Jamie McMurray IRWIN Vise-Grip Ford 237 64 34.6 $81,800 Running
34 25 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 231 61 55.2 $110,003 Running
35 17 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 190 58 61.0 $100,773 Accident
36 37 82 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 189 55 36.6 $84,298 Accident
37 22 1 Martin Truex Jr. TomTom Chevrolet 174 52 77.2 $107,015 Accident
38 31 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 174 49 38.3 $79,825 Accident
39 39 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 67 46 32.5 $72,700 Transmission
40 38 71 David Gilliland TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 48 43 34.0 $71,550 Electrical
41 42 37 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Dodge 30 40 31.8 $71,375 Electrical
42 40 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota 29 37 33.4 $71,250 Overheating
43 41 36 Patrick Carpentier Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota 14 34 30.4 $71,618 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 101,000+ - Joey Logano won the LENOX Industrial Tools 301, his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag no driver(s) dropped to the rear.
Failed to Qualify: (2) 51, 27.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 57 Mins, 45 Secs. Average Speed: 97.497 MPH Margin of Victory: Caution
Caution Flags: 11 for 47 laps: Laps: 17-19 (#36 Accident Turn 4 [None]); 22-25 (#26 Accident Turn 4 [None]); 28-31 (#44 Spun Turn 2 [26]); 47-49 (Competition [None]); 61-63 (#7, 19, 55, 82, 98 Accident Turn 2 [None]); 153-158 (Debris [39]); 171-174 (#98 Accident Turn 4 [20]); 176-180 (#00, 1, 6, 07, 18, 29, 31, 83 Accident Turn 1 [Red Flag 12 Min. 48 Sec.] [12]); 184-187 (#20 Spun Turn 4 [55]); 191-195 (#82 Accident Turn 1 [20]); 268-273 (Weather [55]).
Lead Changes: 21 among 14 drivers: T. Stewart 0; J. Gordon 1-6; Kurt Busch 7-19; J. Gordon 20-31; Kurt Busch 32-46; J. Gordon 47; E. Sadler 48; J. Gordon 49; J. Johnson 50-122; J. Gordon 123; J. Montoya 124-129; D. Hamlin 130; R. Sorenson 131; R. Gordon 132; J. Johnson 133-152; J. Gordon 153-195; T. Stewart 196-235; M. Martin 236; G. Biffle 237; B. Labonte 238-246; R. Newman 247-263; J. Logano # 264-273.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) T. Stewart 2,524;(2) J. Gordon 2,455;(3) J. Johnson 2,355;(4) Kurt Busch 2,254;(5) C. Edwards 2,157;(6) D. Hamlin 2,132;(7) R. Newman 2,127;(8) Kyle Busch 2,108;(9) G. Biffle 2,106;(10) M. Kenseth 2,054;(11) M. Martin 2,052;(12) J. Montoya 2,049.
DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Tony Stewart, #14 DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Joey Logano, #20
EA Sports Move of the Race : Joey Logano, #20 Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Jeff Gordon, #24 (127.748 mph, Lap 58)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Joey Logano, #20 Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Kurt Busch, #2
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Sam Hornish, #77 (.188 sec ) O’Reilly People, Service and Performance Award : Kyle Busch, #18
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Joey Logano, #20 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Joey Logano, #20
Tissot Pit Road Precision Award : Jimmie Johnson, #48 WIX Lap Leader : Tony Stewart, #14 (40 Laps)
Next Race: Jul. 4, 2009 - Daytona International Speedway