NASCAR 2022: Joey Logano narrowly beats Kyle Busch to win Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway
Team Penske driver Joey Logano beat Kyle Busch in an intense back-and-forth battle to earn his second win of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday at the World Wide Technology Raceway.
The 32-year-old emerged victorious in a wild finish when he used a crossover move to get in front of Busch as both nearly touched. Busch lost momentum in the process, allowing Logano to take the lead back in overtime.
Late in the race, Busch took control but a caution on Lap 236 of 240 from a wreck involving Kevin Harvick sent the race into two-lap overtime. The late-race caution forced Busch and Logano to race each other in overtime.
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Ryan Blaney, who was lined up just behind Joey Logano, gave a push to his #22 car which allowed the latter to quickly move into the lead. Logano did just enough to hold off Kyle Busch in overtime to win the inaugural Cup race at the World Wide Technology Raceway.
Meanwhile, Busch, who dominated most of the race, was unfortunate as overtime didn’t favor him. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver recorded his second consecutive P2 finish in the ongoing NASCAR season.
With his victory in Madison, the 2018 Cup Series champion became the fourth driver to win two races of the season and marked the 29th victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
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The Middletown-Connecticut native, who started from P7, led just 22 of the 240 laps, and reached Victory Lane for the second time this season after winning at Darlington Raceway last month.
The action-packed Enjoy Illinois 300 saw 12 lead changes among 9 different drivers. The venue hosted the Cup Series race and the Next Gen car for the first time on the 1.25-mile-long track and witnessed 10 caution flags.
Joey Logano talks about his thrilling finish at World Wide Technology Raceway
Sunday’s win was amazing for Joey Logano as he collected his second one in a thrilling overtime finish. With the win, he gained 44 points and stands 6th in the latest release of the Cup Series points table.
During the post-race interview, speaking about winning the inaugural Cup race at World Wide Technology Raceway, Logano said:
“What a packed house! Thanks guys for coming out. I hope you guys enjoyed that race. It doesn’t get much better than that. Racing for the lead like that with Kyle [Busch] was a lot of fun, crossing each other back and forth.”
NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend for the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. The action will go live at 4:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 12, 2022.