Logano realizes redemption via overtime NASCAR victory at Texas Motor Speedway
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
FORT WORTH _ Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano rallied from a controversial disqualification one week ago to claim victory in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by LUQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Which begs this question for NASCAR officials: Can Joey have the spoiler from his No. 22 Ford at Talladega Superspeedway back now?
A three-time Cup champion with Team Penske, Logano patiently survived a chaotic afternoon triggered by 12 caution flags to bag his first victory of the 2025 Cup season. The climatic, two-lap overtime dash extended the race distance from 267 to 271 laps around TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval.
Logano led only seven laps en route to a 0.346-second margin of victory over Ross Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, with Ryan Blaney crossing third in another Penske Ford. Kyle Larson finished fourth in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with Erik Jones completing the top-five in a Toyota fielded by Legacy Motor Club.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
More to the moment, Logano’s 37th career Cup victory and 35th with the Blue Oval served as the perfect comeback statement following his DQ from last Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I mean, there’s always a story next week, right?” said Logano, 34, and driver of the No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang Dark Horse. “I told my wife (Brittany Baca) last week before we left, I said, ‘Watch, we’ll go win this one.’ It’s just how we do stuff. Any time you kick us down, I feel like we come back 10 times harder, whatever that is in us. Definitely had a fast car today, and like I said, it’s nice to change the storyline.”
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Logano, who originally finished fifth on Talladega’s high-banked/2.66-mile oval, was relegated to 39th on Tuesday after NASCAR’s garage police discovered two violations on the rear spoiler of the No. 22 Ford. At superspeedway races, NASCAR requires a specific brace to help maintain the required spoiler angle at high-speed.
NASCAR’s post-race inspection found that a nut was missing from the bolt that keeps the brace intact. Secondly, a fastener on the brace was not secured and maintained. Both violations could potentially cause deflection in the spoiler when the cars reach high-speeds.
Logano exited the Alabama facility with a total of 41 points and first top-five finish of the season. The DQ, however, dropped him to last in the running order, with only one point added to his season total.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, won the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
In an apparent bid for transparency, NASCAR had the spoilers from both Logano’s Ford and the No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Mustang of Ryan Preece on display at TMS on Saturday. Additionally, Brad Moran, managing director for the Cup Series, met with media outside NASCAR’s competition hauler to explain the separate issues involving two spoilers that led to the aforementioned Ford teams forfeiting top-five finishes.
Logano admittedly had struggled during the season’s first 10 races, posting one top-10 and an average finish of 19.7. The Talladega penalty dropped him to 11th in the championship standings; barring the DQ, Logano would have been eighth heading into “The Great American Speedway.” Logano’s frustration continued here Saturday, when he qualified 27th.
Members of Joey Logano’s crew celebrate in Victory Lane after Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
So, how did “Sliced Bread” wind up in Victory Lane, wearing a black cowboy hat? “Slowly. Methodically,” Logano joked. “A couple of times we had a really tough pit stall situation and the pit crew did a good job of managing that. We just grabbed a couple (positions) here and there. The car was fast, I knew that yesterday, I just did a poor job qualifying. We just were grinding it out, a couple here and a couple there and eventually we get the win.
“To be able to…after what happened last week to be able to rebound and come right back, it was a total No. 22 way of doing things.”
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, won the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief, reiterated he knew the car was warp-speed fast after Saturday morning’s lone practice session. “But I wasn’t sure if the track would widen-out and give us the opportunity to show what we had,” Wolfe said. “We chipped away at it all day long, and the track was pretty racy. I thought if you had a good car, you could slowly make your way to the front.
“Joey did what he typically does at the end of these races when you put him in position. There’s nobody better at it than him. He just continues to show us that as we go along here. It’s exciting to be part of, and I’m glad we could get our first win of the season.”
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, won the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
In addition, Wolfe termed the week-long buzz surrounding Logano’s DQ an “unfortunate” distraction.
“Obviously, wins heal a lot of things and fix a lot of problems,” Wolfe said. “You know, we’re not proud of what happened there. It was nothing intentional. It was really a learning moment, like I’ve told all the guys in our meetings this week. We know what happened, or we have a pretty good idea what happened, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen again and move forward.
“Fortunately, we have great partners and owners that understand that sometimes it’s just part of the sport, and we’re all working on the edge. It’s hard to compete if you’re not and trying to get all you can. We’ve continued to look forward from that, and I think that showed this weekend our focus was on continuing to bring fast cars and put ourselves in position. Yes, it feels good, and we’ve put that behind us and learned from it.”
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, celebrates with his race team after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports emerged from a group of Larson, Blaney, Tyler Reddick and Logano to charge into the lead after a restart on Lap 245. McDowell held the point through two cautions and restarts before Logano passed the No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet on Lap 264 low and down the backstretch for the lead. Blaney followed suit into second, with McDowell losing control in the dirty air wake created by the No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford. McDowell slammed into the Turn 2 wall, then immediately apologized to his team over the radio.
Blaney, meanwhile, was left to second-guess his decision-making at the race’s pivotal moment. “The one time I didn’t pick the outside the No. 71 got the lead and then I couldn’t get it back,” Blaney said. “Just driver making dumb decisions and not doing his job. I appreciate the team. The No. 12 car was a fast car today. I just can’t do anything right currently. Hopefully it will work itself out.”
Logano made short work of the overtime restart, distancing himself from Blaney before Chastain and his No. 1 Tooties Orchid Lounge Chevrolet materialized in his rearview mirror.
“Starting 31st, we wanted to go plus-30 positions today,” Chastain said. “It’s all on this crew _ the engineering group at Trackhouse Racing and the group at Chevrolet. We made an adjustment during the race and it fixed the car. All the problems we had (Saturday when he qualified 31st) and the start of the race, they were gone. I was confident. I was not confident yesterday. With just one adjustment, it brought this Tooties Chevy to life and that’s why you keep fighting.”
That win automatically qualified Logano and his crew for NASCAR’s season-ending Playoff rounds. “I don’t know if I would characterize it as a sigh of relief, but rather, it reduces the pressure,” said Walt Czarnecki, vice chairman of Team Penske. “The fact that here we are, I think this is 11th race of the year, and we got two cars (Logano and Talladega winner Austin Cindric) in already for the Playoffs. So, it allows the team to, I won’t say freewheel, but to be able to do some things that they might not have been otherwise to do.
“Now, the mission is to get Ryan Blaney into the Playoffs. Blaney’s time is coming, too.”
This moment, however, clearly belonged to Logano and a No. 22 crew methodically hell-bent on making a statement. “I think any time somebody says something about you, you can use it as motivation, whether it’s good or bad,” Logano said. “When you have some negative comments and things like that, you have a chip on your shoulder. ‘Well, I’ll prove you wrong.’ You want that story. It’s cool, right?
“I mean, I don’t feel like I put more effort in one week over the others, but I think subconsciously there’s something that happens. Something happens in the Playoffs. There’s something that happens when someone says something to you, right? I think everyone in here can probably relate to that at some point.”
Interviews:
NCS Race Winner Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) –
NCS Winning Team Paul Wolfe (Crew Chief) and Walt Czarnecki (Vice Chairman, Team Penske) –
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Sunday, May 4, 2025
1. (27) Joey Logano, Ford, 271.
2. (31) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 271.
3. (24) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 271.
4. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 271.
5. (14) Erik Jones, Toyota, 271.
6. (34) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 271.
7. (19) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 271.
8. (28) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 271.
9. (16) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 271.
10. (25) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 271.
11. (32) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 271.
12. (23) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 271.
13. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, 271.
14. (21) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 271.
15. (15) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 271.
16. (29) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 271.
17. (13) Zane Smith, Ford, 271.
18. (12) Chris Buescher, Ford, 271.
19. (20) Cole Custer, Ford, 271.
20. (26) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 271.
21. (17) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 271.
22. (37) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 271.
23. (6) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 271.
24. (1) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 270.
25. (3) Austin Cindric, Ford, 268.
26. (5) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Accident, 265.
27. (22) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, Suspension, 254.
28. (30) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 246.
29. (33) Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 237.
30. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, Accident, 237.
31. (35) Jesse Love(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 217.
32. (7) Josh Berry, Ford, 187.
33. (9) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 179.
34. (18) Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 172.
35. (11) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.
36. (10) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.
37. (38) Chad Finchum, Ford, Accident, 167.
38. (8) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Engine, 73.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 116.885 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 28 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory: .346 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 12 for 73 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 13 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Hocevar 1-22;D. Hamlin 23;A. Cindric 24-73;T. Reddick 74;A. Cindric 75-83;J. Berry 84-124;K. Larson 125-126;A. Cindric 127;T. Gilliland 128-131;K. Larson 132-166;A. Bowman 167;W. Byron 168-189;K. Larson 190-220;J. Nemechek 221;K. Larson 222-243;M. McDowell 244-252;R. Blaney 253;M. McDowell 254-263;J. Logano 264-268;R. Blaney 269;J. Logano 270-271.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Larson 4 times for 90 laps; Austin Cindric 3 times for 60 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 41 laps; William Byron 1 time for 22 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 22 laps; Michael McDowell 2 times for 19 laps; Joey Logano 2 times for 7 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Blaney 2 times for 2 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 1 lap; John Hunter Nemechek 1 time for 1 lap; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 1 lap; Alex Bowman 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,45,21,5,17,77,24,54,71,43
Stage #2 Top Ten: 5,45,48,60,23,77,24,12,22,8
