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Joey Logano wins Bristol: 5 things learned

ByCharles Rahrig V|
Feb 22, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) celebrates winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) celebrates winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Joey Logano pulled away from everyone as he won the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Joey Logano is attempting to get to that next level as a NASCAR driver and win a Sprint Cup Championship. Saturday night, at Bristol, Logano showed that championship-level poised as he held on to beat Kevin Harvick and the rest of the best in NASCAR for his third win of the season, picking up the win at the Irwin Tools Night Race.

At the beginning of the race, it wasn’t Logano factoring into the lead, it was Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, who battled each other back and forth for the win. Then Logano, worked his way up and led 150+ laps on the night to get the win.

Harvick could never close and the rest was history as Logano picked up his third win of the season, to match himself with Matt Kenseth, who also has three wins on the season.

With Logano’s big win, here are five things learned at the Irwin Tools Night Race.

1. Joey Logano joins the three wins or more club

Joey Logano won the very first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway. Then he had several chances to win another race, and just couldn’t beat Kyle Busch for the win. Now, he has won two out of the last three, with wins at Watkins Glen and now Bristol.

For Logano, it gives him momentum heading into “The Chase” where it’s all about wins and finishing in front of everyone else. There are tracks coming up on the schedule that Logano is good at, and if he can pick up a few more wins, he might be bringing in his first Sprint Cup Championship.

2. Kevin Harvick is still there at the front every single race

Kevin Harvick is going to be hard to take a championship from with the way he is driving this season. Saturday night, Harvick picked up his 17th top-5 on the season as he finished in second place. In what has been a trend all season, when Harvick isn’t in first, he’s going to make sure he’s right behind you in second.

The format for winning a championship involves wins, but if Harvick can make sure the other drivers don’t get any separation in points, then he’s going to hold onto his Sprint Cup Championship and successfully defend it. He’s putting on one of the best seasons in NASCAR history.

When the guy finishes bad, which is rarely, he then goes on a tear and never looks back. Harvick is an absolute machine.

3. David Ragan turned and got turned.

Sometimes things come back to bite you, even if it isn’t your fault. That was the story for David Ragan on Saturday, as he accidentally got into the back of Kurt Busch on the track.

Then just a few laps later, he would run of out of room on the track and make contact with Jimmie Johnson, before ending up in the wall himself.

That’s just how it is at Bristol sometimes.

4. Clint Bowyer ran the race he needed to

Clint Bowyer is clinging onto the final spot in “The Chase.” Last week at Michigan, Bowyer was involved in a wreck that shortened his points lead on the final spot. At Bristol, Bowyer needed to absolutely run a perfect race and have a high finish if he was going to help his chances of getting into the postseason.

Well Bowyer did just that as he finished with a top-5 finish. By no means is his spot locked up now, but it goes a long way, and if he can just have a decent finish in the final two races before “The Chase” begins, he will have a chance to compete for a Sprint Cup Championship.

For the veteran Bowyer, there would be nothing sweeter than to have the opportunity.

5. Hendrick Motorsports bounced back

After weeks of struggling on the track, it was a good week for Hendrick Motorsports as Jimmie Johnson finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 9th. For a team that hasn’t had a good summer, and hasn’t won in a while, it was a refreshing sight to see two drivers in the top-10.

With “The Chase” nearing, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the team, but if the duo can pick up some wins, they’ll give themselves a shot at competing for a championship.

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