The chaos of the last lap would see Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski tangle in the final turn, and that would open the door to the Penske Racing star to pounce.
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“But I really think we’ve turned the corner with all of our Toyota teams”, he continued.
“You know, for us, kind of hoped we’d get a lot more than what we did”, Buescher said.
Hamlin tool the lead with nine laps to go thanks to a insane scene with leaders Kyle Busch and Keselowski.
Martin Truex Jr. came closest, getting his Toyota to within a few feet of Hamlin’s similar vehicle entering the last turn of the last lap.
He went wide off turn 10 and as he tried to set up Hamlin for a pass off turn 11, he got bumped by Keselowski.
“We will need to continue to build on what we’ve built up to this point”, Stewart said.
The race, which featured seven cautions and two red flag stoppages, was shaping up as another duel between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch in the closing laps.
Typically one of the dominant forces in NASCAR’s second series along with Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske witnessed the lion’s share of struggles to start 2016.
Pole-sitter Carl Edwards finished 15th. Logano looked to be on a two-stop strategy, waiting until lap 34 to make his first stop. More importantly, he felt vindication after blowing his chance to win on the Sonoma Raceway road course in June when he made a mistake on the last lap, allowing Tony Stewart to claim a surprise victory.
Hamlin also was among the drivers pitting for the last time on lap 49.
Sure, Keselowski didn’t get the finish his team felt he deserved – the 2013 victor was relegated to 24th after a broken track bar and pit road penalty in the closing laps – but his speed and Logano’s convincing win assured that Saturday served as a banner day for Ford’s top team. After pitting during a caution on lap 49, Keselowski stayed out and remained on the race track for the remainder of the race. “It was nice to get over the hump a little bit with both cars running 1-2 at the end of the race, having a shot to win and getting it done”.
Then it’s Austin Dillon (559), Jamie McMurray (550) and Kyle Larson (520).
Tens of thousands of fans filled the racetrack to watch their favorite drivers race in the Sprint Cup Series.
“We’re actually locals. We live in Watkins Glen and we like to come out and support the community and we really enjoy NASCAR racing”, Sharon Upham said. Earnhardt, who visited Watkins Glen on Friday, is recovering from a concussion and will miss at least two more races. Stewart is just behind him with eight.
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Jeff Gordon drove the No. 88 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports in relief of Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the third straight race and finished 14th in his 800th career start after an early accident. The Cheez-It 355 was Gordon’s 800th-career Sprint Cup race.
