Joey Logano completed the weekend sweep at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, following his victory in the Xfinity Series race with his second Cup Series win of the season. When race leader Kevin Harvick ran out of gas approaching the final turn on the final lap of Sunday’s Cheez-It 355, Logano motored past to claim his 10th career victory.
This is the first time the same driver has won both races at The Glen since the track began staging Xfinity and Cup Series events on the same weekend in 2005. Logano’s margin of victory Sunday was more than 5 seconds over Kyle Busch, who climbed into the top 30 in the point standings and is now eligible for a spot in the post-season Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Harvick held on for 3rd place after leading a race-high 29 laps. Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch completed the top 5. Pole sitter AJ Allmendinger led 21 laps but finished 24th in his bid for back-to-back wins at Watkins Glen.
Kyle Busch – having won the first road race earlier this season in Sonoma, California – was trying to become the first driver to win both Cup road-course races in a single season since 2008, when Busch himself accomplished the feat. But he led just once for 3 laps about two-thirds of the way through Sunday’s race and settled for second place, which was enough to lift him from 32nd up to 30th in the standings. With just four races left in the regular season, Busch has a 6-point cushion over Cole Whitt in his bid to remain in the top 30.
Logano’s victory is his first since winning the season-opening Daytona 500 in February and Ford’s first Cup win at Watkins Glen since Marcos Ambrose went back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.
Unofficial Points Standings
DRIVER POINTS BEHIND LEADER
1. Kevin Harvick (2) 823 —
2. Joey Logano (2) 781 | -42
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2) 750 | -73
4. Jimmie Johnson (4) 747 | -76
5. Brad Keselowski (1) 719 | -104
6. Martin Truex Jr. (1) 714 | -109
7. Matt Kenseth (2) 703 | -120
8. Kurt Busch (2) 659 | -164
9. Jamie McMurray 635 | -188
10. Denny Hamlin (1) 631 | -192
– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, NC
AJ Allmendinger powered his way around Watkins Glen International‘s 2.45-mile road course Saturday afternoon to claim the pole position for the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.
Allmendinger, the defending winner of Sunday’s race, had a fast lap of 127.839 mph (68.993 seconds) in the No. 47 JTG/Daugherty Racing entry and will share the front row with Martin Truex Jr. Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., followed as Chevrolet swept the top seven spots.
