Joey Logano emerged victorious in a fuel-filled thriller at Nashville Superspeedway, holding on for the win after a record-breaking five overtime restarts left several drivers stranded.
Amidst the chaotic spectacle that unfolded at Nashville Superspeedway, Joey Logano emerged as the unlikely victor, navigating a treacherous fuel strategy to secure the checkered flag. The NASCAR Cup Series race descended into bedlam as drivers desperately tried to eke out every ounce of fuel while fiercely battling for position.
Logano's daring strategy proved pivotal, as he extended his final fuel tank to an astonishing 110 laps. Under normal circumstances, a driver would only manage around 75-80 laps without refueling, but Logano capitalized on 41 caution laps to conserve his fuel.
"You cross your fingers, say a prayer, and hope there's just enough gas in it," Logano confessed after the race. "There wasn't a drop to spare."
The race took a dramatic turn when Denny Hamlin, who had led the majority of the laps, ran out of gas under caution. Logano seized the opportunity to take the lead and held on through two nail-biting restarts, the race extending 31 laps beyond its scheduled distance.
Logano's victory not only cemented his place in the playoffs but also highlighted the incredible risks involved. Had he run out of gas and finished in the depths of the field, his playoff hopes would have taken a significant blow.
"That, to me, was a ginormous risk," Logano acknowledged. "Going for the win and you could finish [deep in the field] makes it a pretty hard call. But, gosh, maybe you are winning the race. How do you not?"
Kyle Larson found himself embroiled in a rollercoaster of incidents during the late restarts. In the first overtime, Larson's attempt to challenge Hamlin led to a loose moment that sent him into Ross Chastain, inadvertently putting Chastain at a disadvantage in the battle for the lead.
"I was just going to try and get into [Hamlin] to wash him off the bottom to give myself some clean air because I knew being in the second row, whether you were inside or outside, you weren't going to have a shot," Larson explained.
But Larson's misfortunes continued in the third overtime, when he ran out of gas, leaving him vulnerable to an impact from Kyle Busch. The collision ended Busch's day, leaving him understandably frustrated.
"I hate that for Kyle," Larson lamented. "I had no warning. Obviously, we knew we were really close on fuel. It was going to be a stretch to make it, but I had no low fuel pressure alarm on my dash."
Hamlin had dominated the race until misfortune struck in the overtimes. He managed to pass Chastain for the lead with seven laps remaining but ran out of gas just when victory seemed within his grasp.
Hamlin, like Logano, had opted not to surrender the lead despite the fuel risk. "I was 15 seconds away from a win when Austin Cindric spun [for the first overtime] and 10 seconds away a few cautions after that," Hamlin explained. "I was just unlucky."
Christopher Bell had enjoyed a strong start to the race, leading for 131 laps and sweeping the opening two stages. However, he found himself in a vulnerable position once other drivers began pitting on various strategies.
In a hasty attempt to regain position on Lap 228, Bell spun and crashed while attempting a three-wide move. "I got frustrated whenever I got bottled up on the restart and lost my cool," Bell admitted. "I just carried too much speed in there and put myself in a really bad aero-spot and spun it out."
Despite the unfortunate end to his race, Bell remained appreciative of his team's efforts. "Great car. Great effort by [my] group. And I let them down today."
