Joey Logano wins Cheez-It 355: 5 things learned

Joey Logano proved to be the road warrior by winning the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International. Here are three things learned from Sunday’s race.

Joey Logano has finally picked up his second win of the season after coming close so many times. After finishing second to Kyle Busch on multiple occasions, Logano looked like he was going to finally pick up his first win since Daytona at Pocono last week.

Then he ran out of fuel, and watched as everyone passed him by as the win slipped away from him. Today, he was the beneficiary as Kevin Harvick ran out of gas in turn 7 and Logano took advantage to pass him as the checkered flag came out.

Kyle Busch, is also finally in “The Chase” as he crossed into the top-30 in points and now can compete for the Sprint Cup Championship. Last week Busch pushed Logano at the end too hard and ran out of gas. This week, Busch went with the smart play and let Logano go as he took the the second-place finish.

For Logano, he’s finally building that momentum as he goes for his first Sprint Cup Championship.

With Logano’s big win, here are five things learned.

1. AJ Allmendinger runs into bad luck again

One of the great thing about having road races in NASCAR, is that it provides opportunities for drivers to get a spot in “The Chase” that they might not otherwise get on the standard oval. Last season, Allmendinger earned himself a spot in “The Chase” by winning at Watkins Glen.

After winning qualifying, Allmendinger was in position to give himself a chance again. For many laps he was the fastest car on the track, then he began to suffer car issues and lost spots on the track. Continued failures would take him off the track and his chances at competing for a Sprint Cup Championship were suddenly over.

What’s worse, is that this is the exact same thing that happened to Allmendinger at Sonoma earlier this season. There, Allmendinger was the fastest driver on the track, but car failures ended his day early. It looks this season, there won’t be a road specialist getting into “The Chase.”

2. Jeff Gordon continues to struggle

Jeff Gordon looked like he was going to get into “The Chase” based on points, but as things are tightening up, he can’t afford many more days like today. After suffering a brake-line leak, Gordon would have to come off the track, and would fall to the back.

He would get on the track, to run some laps, but he would finish 41st, but once again the struggles were there all day for the No. 24 team in their final season. Everyone has assumed at some point, Gordon would pick up one last win, but now it doesn’t really feel like it’s going to happen.

Gordon is going to have to get it going next week at Michigan if he is going to keep his spot in “The Chase.”

3. The drivers on the bubble are in serious danger of losing their spot

Today was not a good day for drivers on the bubble. Jeff Gordon was in the garage, Aric Almirola ran into trouble with other cars, Jamie McMurray was in the garage, Paul Menard ran into Kasey Kahne and Kahne had his race come to an end early for the second week in a row.

Each one of those drivers is fighting for one of the last spots in “The Chase.” After today, they each stand to lose their chance to compete for a Sprint Cup Championship. With Kyle Busch moving into the top-30, another spot in went by the wayside and suddenly there is one less spot.

Add in the fact that any new driver picks up a win in the next month, and suddenly that will take away another spot. There aren’t enough spots for each of these drivers, and now it’s looking like more than one of them is going to fall out of contention.

There is about to be a lot of desperation out on the track.

4. Denny Hamlin lost his hood

There’s probably a lot of things that could go wrong while driving a high-powered machine like a stock car. Having your hood fly back into your windshield and block your view is probably one of those things. Denny Hamlin had to learn that lesson the hard way on Sunday.

After the hood pins in his car busted, it flew back and he was unable to see, yet managed to drive himself back to the pits. Lucky for him, his team was prepared with another hood.

Considering the circumstances, it could have been a lot worse for Hamlin and everyone out on the track.

5. Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are the three to watch in “The Chase.”

As the season has progressed, it is clear that Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are the three drivers that are separating themselves from the rest of the pack. For what has seemed like every week this summer, the three drivers have battled each other for wins on multiple occasions.

Harvick hasn’t won any of those battles between the three, but he’s been just as strong as he aims to defend his Sprint Cup Championship. However, he hasn’t won since Phoenix, and entering “The Chase,” he’s going to need to win soon if he’s going to establish himself as the top contender.

If he can’t pick up any wins he won’t be able to defend his championship. In the new format it’s all about wins, and lately Kyle Busch and Joey Logano have been the two best at doing that. As the season goes on, the leaders tend to emerge, and now it’s clear, one of these three is probably going to win.

You can’t sleep on the other 13 drivers, but right now there is no one better than this trio.

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