Joey Logano Uses Zippadelli’s Leadership to Beat the Rain at Loudon

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

June 28, 2009 8:45 pm CDT No Comments

Joey Lagono did something that most nineteen year olds have a hard time with; listening to their elders.

Logano listened to crew chief Greg Zippadelli, when he told the first year Cup driver to save enough fuel to make it to the red flag. Rain came on lap 273 of the scheduled 301 laps and “Sliced Bread” was in a position to win. What early on looked to be bad luck turned out to be good for the #20 team. A couple of flat tires and a torn up left rear quarter panel forced him to pit for new tires and allowed the rookie to top off with fuel during the several stops necessary to get the car back into contention. Logano wasn’t thinking silver lining at the time:

We had a left rear cut down right before we made that last long green flag run and just trying to overcome that. When that happened, I thought we were done. I was like, the day just went bad, just try to finish it off and get as best finish we can and we made the right move at the end. He (Zippadelli) went for it and I was just lucky enough to be in the seat.

The win puts Joe Gibbs Racing back in the win column for the first time in a ride other than the #18 of Kyle Busch. Logano’s Cup season got off to a rough start. Just maybe he was in a bit over his head which led me to believe that he might fold under the pressures and not make it past the middle of the season. Look here to see how wrong I could be.

Double file restarts have greatly increased the viewer excitement of the races since their inception. They have also been the cause of some mishaps. Perhaps the two go hand in hand. Loudon had a “big one” the likes of which reminds fans of the side by side racing usually reserved for the plate tracks. The racing has been more fun to watch and NASCAR must be given credit for the move.

This all leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

If the new double file restarts can make for exciting races at New Hampshire and Sonoma; can it do the same for the ‘cookie cutters” at Chicago, Kansas, Atlanta et al?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comments on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. Listen live every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com. Or give us a call at 1-800-645-2946 and if your call is The Shell Nitrogen Enriched Call of the Day you will win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead.

photo credit: Dew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, NASCAR, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch

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