Fontana run continues for team

FONTANA, Calif. — Joey Logano kept Joe Gibbs firmly entrenched in Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway.

Logano won the Nationwide Series race Saturday, holding off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski in Joe Gibbs Racing’s eighth consecutive Nationwide victory at the track.

The youngest winner in Nationwide history three years ago now has 10 victories at 21. Logano is the first Sprint Cup Series driver to win a Nationwide race this season, claiming his second career victory at Fontana.

After starting from the pole, Logano reclaimed the lead after a restart with 12 laps to go before staying in front of a tight pack that left all of the leaders talking about the thrill of racing.

“They had plenty of shots at me,” Logano said. “The restarts were hairy. I was good for a few laps, then I would fall off, and then my car would come back. And then it was awesome. ... It’s good to finally be back in victory lane, man. It means a lot to win these things.”

Logano was determined to get the victory for Gibbs, who has run only winners here since Feb. 2008. Toyota’s headquarters also are nearby in Long Beach and Costa Mesa.

“It’s important to keep a streak going,” Logano said. “You don’t want to be the guy that didn’t win it and broke the streak. To keep a streak going like that, that’s important for our whole company.”

Gibbs is particularly proud of the streak at a track with personal significance. Although he’s best known for his accomplishments in NASCAR and with the Washington Redskins, Gibbs has spent much of his life in Southern California, graduating from high school in nearby Santa Fe Springs, attending San Diego State and working as an assistant to Don Coryell with the Chargers.

“It means a lot,” Gibbs said. “I don’t know how that [streak] happened. These things are so hard to win. We spent years and years just trying to win a race. It’s a credit to all the guys. We got a hardworking bunch of guys that we put together, and we also do a lot of it in our [Sprint] Cup operation. It’s really a credit to the Nationwide shop. I really appreciate those guys.”

Stenhouse finished second, and Keselowski was third. Brian Scott was followed by rookie Austin Dillon, Brad Sweet, Kenny Wallace and Kyle Busch.

“It was a fun day,” Stenhouse said. “The racetrack was really racy. I hope we put on a good show.”

Elliott Sadler finished ninth, and he still leads Stenhouse by 18 points atop the Nationwide standings.

After leading 119 laps before his fourth-place Nationwide finish at Bristol last week, Logano led eight times for 92 laps at Fontana, never running lower than third. The leaders sometimes ran three across on the wide track, thrilling fans and entertaining the drivers — including Logano, who felt like he was “chopping wood” behind the wheel.

“I don’t know who wouldn’t like watching that race. It was amazing,” said Adam Stevens, Logano’s crew chief.

Danica Patrick dropped out with engine trouble and finished 35th, the latest disappointing result for the highprofile driver in her first full season on the Nationwide circuit. Her radiator was punctured by debris.

NASCAR Nationwide — Royal Purple 300

At Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif. Lap length: 2 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (1) Joey Logano, Toyota, 150 laps, $70,770. 2. (10) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 150, $66,593. 3. (3) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 150, $40,750. 4. (7) Brian Scott, Toyota, 150, $40,233. 5. (4) Austin Dillon, Chevy, 150, $31,215. 6. (14) Brad Sweet, Chevy, 150, $28,883. 7. (6) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 150, $26,633. 8. (15) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 150, $18,840. 9. (5) Elliott Sadler, Chevy, 150, $25,268. 10. (8) Brendan Gaughan, Chevy, 150, $25,983. 11. (16) Michael Annett, Ford, 150, $24,408. 12. (17) James Buescher, Chevy, 150, $24,158. 13. (11) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 150, $24,008. 14. (9) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 150, $23,948. 15. (13) Jason Bowles, Toyota, 150, $24,863. 16. (22) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 150, $23,578. 17. (18) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 150, $16,900. 18. (19) Mike Wallace, Chevy, 150, $23,233. 19. (20) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 149, $23,123. 20. (28) Jeremy Clements, Chevy, 148, $23,688. 21. (35) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevy, 148, $16,435. 22. (33) Benny Gordon, Chevy, 148, $16,275. 23. (32) Joey Gase, Ford, 148, $22,658. 24. (31) Erik Darnell, Chevy, 147, $16,025. 25. (24) Blake Koch, Chevy, 147, $22,633. 26. (25) Eric McClure, Toyota, 146, $22,448. 27. (27) T.J. Bell, Chevy, 145, $22,113. 28. (39) Daryl Harr, Chevy, 145, $21,993. 29. (34) Tim Schendel, Chevy, 145, $15,375. 30. (12) C. Whitt, Chevy, accident, 142*, $22,033. 31. (40) D. Green, Dodge, suspension, 139, $21,623. 32. (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevy, engine, 112, $22,563. 33. (38) Kevin Lepage, Chevy, rear gear, 82, $21,403. 34. (37) M. Shepherd, Chevy, engine, 66, $14,825. 35. (21) Danica Patrick, Chevy, engine, 63, $21,183. 36. (29) Tim Andrews, Ford, vibration, 22, $14,605. 37. (43) Scott Riggs, Chevy, rear gear, 9, $14,485. 38. (36) Chase Miller, Chevy, vibration, 8, $14,375. 39. (30) Josh Wise, Chevy, electrical, 6, $14,115. 40. (41) Mike Harmon, Chevy, rear end, 5, $14,080. 41. (23) Scott Speed, Chevy, vibration, 4, $14,020. 42. (42) John Jackson, Toyota, fuel pump, 3, $13,940. 43. (26) Jeff Green, Toyota, vibration, 2, $13,907.