Logano earns first NASCAR Cup win

Ryan Blaney finishes 22nd

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski were side by side off the fourth turn, two teammates fighting for the last burst of speed on the final lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Logano barely managed to block Keselowski’s move, and the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion hung on for his first win in his title defense season.

Logano held off Keselowski on Sunday for his first Cup victory in Vegas, driving his Team Penske Ford to his 22nd career win.

“There’s been plenty of times here when we’ve led a lot of laps here, but we’ve never won, and that’s the most important stat to have,” Logano said. “Something happens at the end, and Brad becomes the fastest car and he wins. I looked in the mirror, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening again.”’

But after narrowly answering Keselowski’s last-lap passing attempt, Logano celebrated his victory in NASCAR’s first race under its full new rules package designed to foster tight racing and excitement.

Excitement is exactly what NASCAR got on the final lap, although the quality of the 266 laps before that sharply divided drivers and observers — no surprise in a sport that rarely agrees on much of anything.

The race featured no cautions, which meant the thrilling restarts expected under the new rules were limited to a couple of wild laps after the two segment breaks.

Hometown driver Kyle Busch finished third, unable to recover from a mid-race speeding penalty in his quest for the third three-race weekend sweep in NASCAR history.

Pole-sitter Kevin Harvick was fourth, and Kurt Busch finished fifth for the Las Vegas native’s first top-five finish at his home track since 2005. Fords took five of the top seven spots.

Ryan Blaney finished 22, after starting 13th. He never led in the race.