Joey Logano Takes the Xfinity Field to the Woodshed at Auto Club Speedway

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FONTANA, CA – RIS – Joey Logano sighed and did a spectacular burnout after winning the 20th Annual Roseanne NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.  The race win was never in doubt, even after two late cautions.  His No. 22 Ford Mustang was the fastest car. Logano’s dominance was akin to a trip to the woodshed for the rest of the competitors.  It was a milestone victory for Roger Penske, the team owner.

Calling his car "amazing," Logano said it "was one of those races that you feel relieved when you win" because "you're supposed to win when you have a car that fast."

After the race, he radioed to his crew his true feelings.

“I’m just glad to win a race again.”  Logano had been winless for awhile save for a win at Richmond, Va. that was disallowed for a rules violation. Last year.

It was the first time that a Penske car won a race in NASCAR's second-level Xfinity Series at the Fontana track, which Penske built in the mid-1990s. Penske has three wins at Auto Club Speedway in the Cup series.

Justin Allgaier finished second, Elliott Sadler was third and Austin Dillon, another Cup regular who won this year's Daytona 500, finished fourth.

"Hats off to Joey, they had the dominant car today," Allgaier said.

Logano, 27, became the fifth different winner in the five Xfinity races this season, and it was Logano's third career Xfinity victory at the two-mile Fontana oval.

If there was any doubt about Logano's Ford being the class of the field, it was dispelled after a caution period came out with 31 laps remaining.

Logano pitted for four fresh tires while the other leaders stayed out and he restarted 16th. Then, in fewer than four laps, Logano surged back through the field to retake the lead for good.  Woodshed, indeed.

Unofficial Race Results for the 20th Annual Roseanne 300 - Saturday, March 17, 2018 - Auto Club Speedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Playoff Pts, Tms Led, Laps Led, Pts, Status
1)        2, Joey Logano(i), No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, 150, 1, 1, , 3, 139, 0, Running
2)        6, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Hellmann's Chevrolet, 150, 2, 5, , 1, 2, 50, Running
3)        11, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 150, 4, 4, , 1, 4, 48, Running
4)        19, Austin Dillon(i), No. 3 Red Kap/Prudential Overall Supply Chevrolet, 150, , 8, , , , 0, Running
5)        5, Daniel Hemric, No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, 150, 8, 7, , , , 39, Running
6)        4, Cole Custer, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 150, 3, 6, , , , 44, Running
7)        16, Tyler Reddick #, No. 9 Nationwide Children's Chevrolet, 150, 5, 2, , , , 45, Running
8)        20, Matt Tifft, No. 2 Anderson's Maple Syrup Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 29, Running
9)        8, Ryan Preece, No. 18 Rheem Toyota, 150, , 9, , , , 30, Running
10)      13, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Daley Technology Systems Chevrolet, 150, 9, , , , , 29, Running
11)      15, Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 26, Running
12)      10, Ryan Truex, No. 11 Bar Harbor/Sea Watch International Chevrolet, 150, 10, , , , , 26, Running
13)      9, Brandon Jones, No. 19 Menards/Jeld-Wen Toyota, 150, , , , , , 24, Running
14)      12, Kaz Grala #, No. 24 NETTS Ford, 150, , , , , , 23, Running
15)      22, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 22, Running
16)      23, Joey Gase, No. 35 Sparks Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 21, Running
17)      7, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford, 150, , , , , , 20, Running
18)      18, Michael Annett, No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 150, , 10, , , , 20, Running
19)      21, Alex Labbe #, No. 36 Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Gear Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 18, Running
20)      17, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Lombard Bros. Gaming Chevrolet, 150, , , , 1, 1, 17, Running
21)      1, Christopher Bell #, No. 20 GameStop/Turtle Beach Toyota, 150, 6, 3, , 1, 4, 29, Running
22)      26, BJ McLeod, No. 78 JW Transport Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 15, Running
23)      25, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 VehicleKeys.com Chevrolet, 149, , , , , , 14, Running
24)      31, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 8  Chevrolet, 149, , , , , , 13, Running
25)      27, Josh Williams, No. 90 Sleep Well Chevrolet, 148, , , , , , 12, Running
26)      36, David Starr, No. 52 Chasco Chevrolet, 148, , , , , , 11, Running
27)      34, Vinnie Miller #, No. 01 JAS Expedited Trucking LLC Chevrolet, 148, , , , , , 10, Running
28)      14, Austin Cindric #, No. 60 Lti Printing Ford, 147, , , , , , 9, Running
29)      3, John H. Nemechek, No. 42 Fire Alarm Services Inc. Chevrolet, 147, 7, , , , , 12, Running
30)      29, Spencer Boyd #, No. 76 Grunt Style Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 7, Running
31)      37, Stephen Leicht, No. 55 Jani-King Toyota, 132, , , , , , 6, Brakes
32)      38, Josh Bilicki #, No. 45 Prevagen Toyota, 122, , , , , , 5, Engine
33)      40, Dylan Lupton, No. 28 thinQ Technology Partners Ford, 109, , , , , , 4, Engine
34)      24, JJ Yeley, No. 38 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 76, , , , , , 3, Power 
35)      35, Timmy Hill, No. 66 Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit Dodge, 56, , , , , , 2, Vibration
36)      28, Chad Finchum #, No. 40 Smithbilt Homes Toyota, 45, , , , , , 1, Engine
37)      30, Matt Mills #, No. 15 Flex Glue Chevrolet, 29, , , , , , 1, Accident
38)      33, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 22, , , , , , 1, Suspension
39)      32, Jeff Green, No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 10, , , , , , 1, Brakes
40)      39, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Chill by Koolbox/Shadow Warriors Project Chevrolet, 6, , , , , , 1, Engine

 (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 21 Mins, 25 Secs.
Total Race Length - 150 Laps - 300 Miles
Average Speed: 127.283 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.429 Seconds
Race Comments: Joey Logano won the Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway, his 29th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for reasons indicated: No. 28 (Backup car).

Caution Flags: 7 for 32 laps: Laps: 33-40 (No. 15 Incident in Turn 2 [39]);
70-76 (#42 Incident on Frontstretch [78]);
99-102 (No. 20 Spin on Frontstretch [78]);
106-108 (No. 5, 20 Incident in Turn 4 [78]);
111-114 (Fluid on Track From No. 28 [36]);
122-124 (Debris Turn 2 [5]);
140-142 (Debris on Frontstretch [0]).

Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers: C. Bell # 1-4;
J. Logano(i) 5-121;
J. Allgaier 122-123;
E. Sadler 124-127;
J. Logano(i) 128-140;
R. Sieg 141;
J. Logano(i) 142-150.

Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race:  Roush-Yates Engines, No. 22
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race:  Justin Allgaier, No. 7 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Tyler Reddick, No. 9

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2018, Issue 3, Posted 10:33 PM, 03.17.2018