Yahoo Finance Record-Breaking Quintuple Overtime Leads to Joey Logano's First Win of NASCAR Season
Contact between Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric while battling for 21st on the penultimate lap to set up a slew of green-white-checkers.
Most drivers running in the top 15 were close on fuel without overtime laps leading half the leaders to pit and half to risk it. Many drivers continued to risk it as additional cautions cycled through.
31 Laps later, Joey Logano was the last man standing, winning his first race of the season and securing a playoff berth.
With seven laps to go, Denny Hamlin passed Ross Chastain after chasing him down from the most recent restart. Without late cautions, that would've been all NASCAR wrote Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway. Instead, four overtime restarts later, Joey Logano punched his way into the 2024 playoffs with his first win.
It looked tight for the leaders to finish without a final pit stop for gas before the 11th caution of the race brought out the first green-white-checkers.
After the race, Hamlin, who finished 12th after running out of gas under the third caution, was the first to say that the result was due to the current overtime rules package and that Cup drivers just have to be prepared.
“That’s NASCAR Cup Series racing," Hamlin said, "Once you get one of these Green-White-Checkers, it’s going to be chaos, and everybody is going to run into each other; that’s just part of it.”
With two laps remaining, a collision between Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric while battling for 21st and the pandemonium began.
The majority of the drivers in the top 15 were running close on fuel, with half choosing to pit and half risking it.
The first of five overtime restarts was short-lived.
Kyle Larson turned into Ross Chastain after hitting the apron and shooting up the race track. Chastain collected Kyle Busch, who had his best chance of extending his historic 19-year winning streak in what has been one of the worst years of Busch's career.
Others collected in the crash were Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, William Byron, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Gibbs.
I got in hot on that restart," Larson said after finishing eighth, "I just got myself tight and up track into Ross."
Larson would not survive the next restart, running out of fuel two restarts later after a poor start that ended up collecting Busch for the second time.
"On the next one, I got out of shape through the gears, and then we ran out of fuel after that."
He would, however, through the continued cycle of G-W-C restarts, rebound for an eighth-place finish.
Chastain gutted that he was unable to bring Trackhouse a win in the state where it all began for his bosses, says he was doing whatever he could to survive when Larson turned as the two battled to pass Hamlin.
"I'm just driving down into turn 1," Chastain said. "I knew that I was hung on the No. 11 right rear, and I had a shot to win."
"My feelings are hurt, of course, Chastain continued. "I want to be out there; I want to be racing; I'm a racer. That's why I raced yesterday, and that's why I drive so hard, not like everyone in Cup doesn't drive hard."
On the next restart Hamlin was pulling away for his fourth win of the season, just 15 seconds away from hitting the line for the white flag lap, when the caution came out for melee at the back of the field.
An accordion effect in the mid-field started when Gragson sent Carson Hoecevar back before ultimately Corey Heim turned, collecting an additional half dozen at the back of the field.
The final two restarts saw nine out of the top ten drivers without wins, so the decorum that was already lacking was not going to be found.
Josh Berry lost control as Logano was coming to the white flag, crashing hard into the wall and bringing out the 15th caution.
Logano had now experienced what Hamlin dealt with for the three restarts prior.
The final restart saw Logano and Chase Briscoe on the front row, with Zane Smith and Ryan Preece behind. The first competitor with a race win was Tyler Reddick in sixth.
Reddick made a go for it on the restart, making it up to Logano's back bumper with two corners remaining; Logano was able to protect his lead while feeling his car stumble and run out of gas.
"I knew going into three," Logano said about running out of gas, "The fuel light came on, and I stumbled across the line."
"We had it won off of four, and then the caution came out, Logano said post-race."You can't pit; you have to go for it."
You Might Also Like
