FORT WORTH -- Joey Logano arrived at Texas with a clear conscience, an easy smile and a new focus after being intentionally wrecked by Matt Kenseth last weekend.
Kenseth's two-race suspension begins Sunday after his appeals were rejected this week. Logano said the incident at Martinsville when he was leading might not have been such a bad thing.
"Our team is more fired up than ever, I'm more focused than ever, I'm pretty pumped up about being here at the race track," Logano said Friday. "We've still got plenty of confidence."
Logano is last among the eight drivers still in contention for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He had won three consecutive races and was leading with 47 laps left when he was wrecked by Kenseth as payback from an incident three races earlier.
NASCAR suspended Kenseth, putting Erik Jones in the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing for Sunday's race. Kenseth's probation was reduced from six months to the end of the year, but he remains suspended and promised Thursday to race as he always has going forward.
With Logano qualifying fourth and Jones sixth, they will start nose-to-tail Sunday. Brad Keselowski earned the pole, and will be on the front row with Kevin Harvick, the defending Chase champion who is currently fourth in the standings.
Asked if he felt the penalties against Kenseth were just, Logano said that wasn't his decision.
"NASCAR looked at it the way they needed to, and they made the decision they felt was right," Logano said. "Our chase, we're not out of it by no means. We've got plenty of time to get ourselves back in. I feel confident we can get it done."
Logano again stood firm Friday in his stance about what happened when he wrecked Kenseth at Kansas Speedway, saying it was a product of both drivers racing hard for the victory. Logano won, and Kenseth needed a victory to advance to the third round of NASCAR's playoffs.
"That was a racing thing, what happened in Kansas," Logano said. "That was not the way that you ever want to see a race end. ... But when I look at it, and the more I looked out, it's a racing thing, it just happened. It's unfortunate, but I would understand if the same thing had happened to me."
When Kenseth returned to the Martinsville track last week in a wrecked car, he was nine laps down. He drove Logano's car into the wall as Logano tried to pass him.
Fans cheered when Kenseth slammed into Team Penske's No. 22 Ford.
"Was I surprised to see the fans' reaction after something like that happened last week? Yes, I was," Logano said. "I was disgusted by it. It's not what any driver would expect out of it."
Logano has finished in the top five in four of his last five Texas starts, including a victory in the 2014 spring race. He finished fourth here in April, when with about 20 laps left, Kevin Harvick tapped the rear of Logano's car to push past him.
"He was on the inside of me, I took the risk of blocking and I knew the consequences, and he moved me out of the way," said Logano, who watched that race again this week. "That's what I had coming to me. He kept his nose in there, I knew the chance I was taking."
There was no need for any conversations with Harvick after that about what happened, and Logano felt the same way after the incident with Kenseth at Kansas.
"Our goal when we get to the race track is to win the race," Logano said. "It's not revenge. It's not taking someone else. It's a trophy."
And there could be a big trophy for Logano to seek in the Nov. 22 season finale, when Kenseth will also be back on the track.
XFINITY SERIES
Buescher tries to keep lead
FORT WORTH -- Chris Buescher grew up winning legends car races at Texas Motor Speedway, on the fifth-mile track outside and sometimes on the quarter-mile layout that incorporates the main track's frontstretch.
Buescher, 23, is now trying to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
"It's what I hoped for," Buescher said. "I didn't have clue back then that it was going to work out, even to this point."
Buescher, who grew up in nearby Prosper, Texas, returns to his home track today with three races remaining and the series points lead. Defending champion Chase Elliott is 27 points back, and Regan Smith trails by 33 points.
While Buescher has been pretty open about how much he hates racing for points instead of going all-out for victories, he understands he has to go against his instincts a bit with the season winding down.
"I don't like having a car capable of winning and just running third with it because that's safe. That hurts me," he said. "But I understand there's a bigger picture, and it's what we've got to go after."
Buescher took over the series lead in mid-May with his victory at Iowa and has held on since in the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. He has two victories and 20 top-10 finishes, including 10 in the last 11 races.
"We've been extremely consistent finish-wise. We've run better than where we've finished, and we've been running solidly in the top 10," Buescher said. "I have no doubt that we'll be competitive enough to pull it off. It's just going to be a matter of staying out of trouble."
Sports on 11/07/2015