IMPORTANT UPDATE: Issues occur quick in NASCAR, and the next story painting’s Logano’s feelings instantly following the checkered flag. Since then, Alex Bowman failed post-race technical inspection, which eliminates him from the playoffs and places Logano again in.
These 4 factors had been of a sure significance to Logano. When Austin Dillon ran him over (and Denny Hamlin moments later) for the Richmond win this previous summer season, Logano wasn’t simply denied a checkered flag. Each race win rewards 5 bonus factors that drivers carry with them all through the whole playoffs. The mathematics is fairly clear on how that win would have modified issues for Logano.
The transfer Dillon pulled was so egregious that NASCAR eliminated him from the playoffs, however the injury from it’s nonetheless being felt by the drivers concerned weeks later.
“Yeah, we fought laborious for positive,” mentioned Logano, who completed eighth on the Roval. “[Crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] and the fellows did a very good job executing the technique of what we would have liked to do at this time. We simply didn’t get fairly sufficient on the finish there. We fell off just a little an excessive amount of that final run. Truthfully, the 45 [Tyler Reddick] and people guys did a very good job driving up by way of the sector and scored extra factors.
“It’s laborious not to consider Richmond just a little bit proper now. I assume the optimistic of it’s that we’re nonetheless within the house owners championship, so we will confuse all of the followers from right here on out about drivers and house owners championships. The cash is within the house owners’ (championship), so we are going to maintain preventing for the cash.”
Nonetheless one other title to struggle for
That is proper, Logano’s playoffs are over however the No. 22 Group Penske Ford is not fairly finished. When Kyle Larson missed the Coke 600 after operating the Indianapolis 500, that ended up costing him the common season title to Reddick. Because the automobile nonetheless ran the 600 with Justin Allgaier behind the wheel, it scored sufficient factors to win the common season title for Hendrick Motorsports whereas Reddick gained it in drivers.
Subsequently, the bonus factors awarded diversified between the proprietor’s and driver’s playoffs, permitting the No. 22 Penske Ford to squeak into the subsequent spherical however the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota didn’t. Whereas the glory and spectacle sits with the driving force’s title, all the payouts on the finish of the season stem from the proprietor’s standings.
Because the laps ticked away on the Roval, Logano described a sense of helplessness as Reddick charged by way of the sector on more energizing tires whereas he tried in futility to carry again a few street course aces.
“[Fresh] tires had been coming behind you with two of the very best with AJ [Allmendinger] and Shane [van Gisbergen] coming at me,” mentioned Logano. “I used to be simply making an attempt to keep up the very best you possibly can and actually was praying for a warning as a result of that was the one factor that would stir it up sufficient to the place a variety of what-ifs can occur. Congrats to them [Reddick]. They fought laborious, altering toe hyperlinks and all that and had been nonetheless in a position to make it. It simply wasn’t meant to be. You can begin trying again at totally different factors within the season to assemble 4 factors fairly simply. One race specifically.”
