Race report

NASCAR Cup Gateway

Joey Logano outduels Kyle Busch for inaugural Gateway Cup win

Joey Logano emerged victorious in a back-and-forth battle with Kyle Busch in overtime to win the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Jim Utter

Edited: Jun 6, 2022, 8:33 AM

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Busch had taken control of the race but a late caution from a wreck involving Kevin Harvick sent Sunday’s race into a two-lap overtime to the delight of the sold-out crowd.

Logano lined up alongside Busch on the restart and got a big push from Penske teammate Ryan Blaney which allowed him to quickly move into the lead.

Busch then used a crossover move to get back in front of Logano as the two nearly touched, but got loose in the process and Logano dived beneath him and back into the lead.

Logano took the checkered flag 0.665 seconds head of Busch to earn his second win of the 2022 season and 28th of his career.

“What a packed house! Thanks guys for coming out. I hope you guys enjoyed that race,” said Logano. “It doesn’t get much better than that. Racing for the lead like that with Kyle was a lot of fun, crossing each other back and forth.

“I knew it was coming. If I did it to him, I knew he would do it to me. We crossed back and forth there a couple times in the last lap. It’s nice to get a few wins on the season here and start collecting those playoff points.

“I’m way out of breath here. What a great car, though. Really fast. I kind of messed up in qualifying, and Paul (Wolfe, crew chief) made a great call putting two tires on. Blaney did a great job with the push down in (Turn) 1, which kept me close at least and being able to make the move.”

Logano said he was hoping Blaney would line up behind him on the late restarts so the two could work together.

“He did a good teammate move there and then being able to push me and give Team Penske a chance to win the race. That was cool to see that Ford power lined up on the bottom (lane). That was special to see,” he said.

“Like I said, it was a good race crossing each other. Who would have thought we had slide jobs like that here? I thought we would be running towards the bottom, and we were running way up top and crossing each other. It was a lot of fun to race here, and looking forward to coming back.”

Logano is now the fourth driver with multiple wins this season, joining Ross Chastain, William Byron and Denny Hamlin.

Kurt Busch ended up third, Blaney fourth and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 were Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Chastain, Christopher Bell and A.J. Allmendinger, who started from the rear of the field after winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Portland, Ore.

Stage 3

During the break between Stages 2 and 3, a handful of lead-lap cars pit but Truex stayed out and inherited the lead. Kurt Busch was the first off pit road among those who pit.

The race resumed on Lap 148 with Truex out front followed by Kyle Busch, Almirola, Bell and Daniel Suarez. Kurt Busch lined up 23rd.

With 75 laps remaining, Truex maintained about a half-second lead over Kyle Busch with Blaney third, Almirola fourth and Bell fifth.

On Lap 183, Tyler Reddick spun off Turn 2 and down the backstretch to bring out a caution just as a round of green-flag pit stops was about to begin.

All the lead-lap cars pit with Jones the first off pit road with a two-tire pit stop. Almirola nearly made contact with Truex on pit road and Truex bumped into Almirola on the exit of pit road. Suarez’s team had a jack malfunction which resulted in an extended stop.

On the restart on Lap 190, Jones was followed by Kyle Busch, Logano, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson. Almirola, who lined up sixth, was the first car that took four new tires.

Kyle Busch powered to the lead on the restart.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun down the backstretch on Lap 201 after contact with the wall to bring out the eighth caution of the race.

Only a handful of cars elected to pit but Kyle Busch stayed out and led the way on the restart on Lap 207. He was followed by Logano and Almirola.

With 32 laps remaining, Logano got around Kyle Busch on the inside to take the lead for the first time in the race.

On Lap 222, Cole Custer hit the wall in Turn 1 after contact from Todd Gilliland to bring out the ninth caution of the race.

Most of the lead-lap cars stayed out and Logano continued to lead the way on the restart on Lap 228, followed by Kyle Busch, Blaney and Almirola.

Kyle Busch quickly got past Logano on the outside on the restart to reclaim the lead.

With four laps remaining, Harvick wrecked in Turn 3 to bring out a caution and send the race into a two-lap overtime. Harvick said over his team radio that he may have blown a brake rotor.

A couple of cars pit under the caution. On the start to overtime, Kyle Busch was followed by Logano, Blaney, Kurt Busch and Almirola.

Stage 2

Kurt Busch held off a wild last-lap charge from Truex to earn the Stage 2 victory, his second of the 2022 season.

Kyle Busch was third, Larson fourth and Almirola rounded out the top-five.

During the break between Stages 1 and 2, the lead-lap cars all pit with Austin Cindric the first off pit road. Chase Briscoe stayed out and took the wave-around, putting him back on the lead lap. Chase Elliott was forced to pit twice to fix a loose left-rear wheel.

The race returned to green on Lap 54 with Cindric out front followed by Blaney, Reddick and Hamlin.

Blaney powered around Cindric on the outside to take the lead on the restart.

On Lap 65, Hamlin hit the wall hard in Turn 1 after getting hit by Chastain to bring out a caution. “We’re done,” he said over his team radio.

After some repairs, Hamlin was able to return to the track but in 36th and three laps down.

A few lead-lap cars pit but Kyle Busch stayed out and inherited the lead. The race returned to green on Lap 70.

With 50 laps remaining in the stage, Kyle Busch maintained a 1.4-second lead over Logano with Blaney in third.

On Lap 95, Blaney had a left-rear tire go down, spun and tagged the Turn 2 wall which brought out a caution. He had changed two tires on his previous pit stop.

Most lead-lap cars pit with Larson first off pit road. Michael McDowell stayed out and inherited the lead.

When the race resumed on Lap 101, McDowell was followed by Reddick and Almirola. Larson lined up 11th.

Chastain tried a three-wide move for position on Lap 102 which sent Elliott for a spin and also collected Wallace. That brought out the fourth caution of the race.

The race returned to green on Lap 107 with McDowell still out front.

On the restart, both Elliott and Hamlin hit Chastain’s car, which briefly knocked him off the pace. He slipped back to 33rd place.

Bubba Wallace spun in Turn 3 after contact from Stenhouse to place the race under caution.

Several drivers elected to pit but Kurt Busch stayed out and inherited the lead. Reddick was penalized for removing equipment and had to restart from the rear of the field.

The race returned to green with six laps to go and Kurt Busch out front of Larson and Custer.

Stage 1

Cindric easily held off his Penske teammate Blaney to take the Stage 1 win, the first of his career.

Reddick was third, Hamlin fourth and Chastain rounded out the top-five.

Briscoe started on the pole and took command of the race early, running out to about a half-second lead over Cindric.

On Lap 28, Briscoe had a left-rear tire go down which forced him to make a green-flag pit stop and turned the lead over to Cindric.

Briscoe returned to the track in 36th and one lap down.

With 10 laps to go in the stage, Cindric’s lead over Blaney had expanded to 2.1 seconds with Reddick in third.

Parker Kligerman (backup car), Allmendinger (driver change) and Suarez (unapproved adjustments) all had to start the race from the rear of the field.

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