LAS VEGAS – The adjustments to a major offseason overhaul at Team Penske continued Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where miscommunication between Joey Logano and his new crew chief led to a botched final pit stop.
Logano still wound up in victory lane for the second year in a row at this NASCAR Cup Series race, winning a two-lap sprint to the finish that ended under caution.
When the yellow flag waved with six laps remaining, it forced teams to make strategic decisions, and crew chief Paul Wolfe told Logano to come to pit road for new tires on the No. 22 Ford Mustang. Logano didn’t hear Wolfe and remained on track, a move that cycled him into the lead but put him in position to hold off a slew of contenders on fresh tires.
Logano knew it was critical to get some separation from the pack quickly on the restart to have any shot at the win.
“Clean air was going to be key with old tires,” he said. “If I got swallowed up by a couple cars, I was just going to fall backwards really quick.”