Logano bumps his way to Pocono win

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

LONG POND, Pa.

On a speedway with a fresh coat of asphalt, Joey Logano may just have gotten a fresh start.

After reclaiming the lead from veteran Mark Martin on Lap 157 of 160, Logano pulled away to win the Pocono 400, his first Sprint Cup victory since a rain-shortened win at New Hampshire in 2009.

The second triumph of Logano’s career couldn’t have come at a better time — during a contract year in which doubters have considered the 22-year-old a prime candidate to lose his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I hope it shuts ’em all up,” was Logano’s terse wish for his critics after he climbed from his winning No. 20 Toyota.

Tony Stewart ran third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.

The race was vindication for Logano in another respect. He had claimed his other Cup win by staying on the track and hoping for rain when stronger cars came to pit road.

The gamble paid off, but winning a race in the rain paled in comparison to crossing the finish line under full power ahead of 42 other cars. In fact, Logano said Sunday’s victory felt like his first Cup win.

“To me, it does,” he acknowledged. “The first win came — it came soon, it came under rain delay — so this is a different feel.”

In a bizarre race that featured 22 pit road speeding penalties — a record for a Cup race — Logano and Martin stepped up the level of drama on the racetrack.

Martin grabbed the lead with an aggressive move to the outside in Turn 1, after a restart on Lap 153.

As the drivers completed Lap 156, Logano pulled even near the start/finish line and cleared Martin’s Camry through Turn 1.

“Well, I’d call that a bump-and-run,” Martin said. “It’s been acceptable in this racing for a long time. It’s not how I would have done it, but certainly, if I’d have had a fast enough car, he would have gotten a return [bump]. But I couldn’t quite keep up with him. It was great racing.”