Logano holds off Busch in Toyota Nashville romp

Joey Logano celebrates in victory lane with the Sam Bass designed guitar trophy

John Sommers II/Getty Images for NASCAR

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano slipped past teammate Kyle Busch with nine laps to go and hung on to win the Nashville 300 Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

The victory was Logano’s first of the season and second of his young career. The 18-year-old also won last year at Kentucky Speedway.

“It’s been awhile," a smiling Logano said after the race. “We had a really good run here the last time we were here and got caught up in a wreck. It was awesome to be able to get that win this time. Ever since I’ve been coming to Nashville … I’ve been wanting to that that guitar, and this is just awesome."

The track awards a unique trophy to the race winner, a Sam Bass-painted Gibson Les Paul guitar, which Logano proudly carried home in a case after the race.

The race was a battle between the Gibbs teammates, and Busch and Logano led 172 of the race’s 225 laps.

“He had a better car on the short run, and we had a better car on the long run," Busch said. “(The team) did a great job, and it was just a shame we weren’t able to get out there and win this thing. That’s kind of frustrating, but we finished second today."

The victory was also the first of the season for JGR’s No. 20 team and crew chief Dave Rogers, and Rogers’ first since his suspension last year.

Busch completed the JGR 1-2 finish by coming home second. JR Motorsports’ Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Kelly Bires and Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards.

Sixth through 10th were Braun Racing’s Jason Leffler. Roush Fenway’s David Ragan, Phoenix Racing’s Mike Bliss, Rusty Wallace Racing’s Steve Wallace and CJM Racing’s Scott Lagasse Jr.

Busch cut into Edwards’ points lead and now trails by 23 after the sixth race of the season.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 1st
How much does this win mean to you? "It's been a while. We had a really good run the last time we were here and got caught up in a wreck. It was awesome to be able to get that win this time. Ever since I've been coming to Nashville – even at the fairgrounds I've been wanting to get that guitar and this is just awesome. I have to thank GameStop and all the fans for coming out here today."

How strong was your car this weekend? "The car was good right off the bat. We qualified great, we practiced great yesterday. We started going and Kyle (Busch) got by us and the car just kept getting tighter and tighter on the long runs and Dave (Rogers, crew chief) just kept adjusting on it. We were really good on the short runs and then we kind of kept tightening up as it kept going. I was able to get Kyle (Busch) back there at the end of the race and get the clean air back on my nose. I know he was tight so that kind of made it worse for him. It was good enough to hold him off. It's cool to have a Joe Gibbs Racing one-two finish – that's a big deal for all the guys at the shop too."

Did you need the final caution to hold off Kyle Busch? "The short runs were good for us – that's pretty much what it came down to. Like every run we would get back to the lead and then we would go back a little bit and that's just how it was the whole day. It was cool and it was great to be able to get this win because it's been a while. To get Dave (Rogers, crew chief) back and get his team back in victory lane is just really cool."

Were you nervous with Kyle Busch behind you on the final restart? "I wasn't too nervous, I was just driving as hard as a I can. That last restart I knew I had to have a good restart and it was decent, but he had a good one too and I was able to get through (turns) one and two really good and get out there in a big enough lead. Funny because on Monday I was texting Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and told him that we had to win this race. It had been way too long since we won and to get up there and succeed and win this race – this is one of the tracks that I really like so to get this win is huge."

Does this win boost your confidence? "It's big for me, it's an awesome confidence booster for sure. Looking and saying, 'Hey, I can do this, I am here for a reason, I can win races.' That's big. Just to reinsure yourself of that and I'm sure this is just going to keep carrying on and now we just have to build on this momentum and keep going."

How do you feel about the Joe Gibbs Racing crew chiefs sharing information? "It's part of it – I think you have to in order to have a successful team in Nationwide or Cup. The guys have to work together. You know everyone else is so if you're a two-car team and work as a one-car team that ain't going to help anyone. You might as well just be a one-car team. Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin), they help me out so much as a driver on the Cup side and then all those three crew chiefs over there work well together just like they do over here and you have to be a team. That's what we are – Joe Gibbs Racing is a team. Not the 18 (Kyle Busch) versus the 20 (Joey Logano) all the time. It's cool that we race against each other like that, but at the same time we are still a team."

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