Joey Logan races to win at MIS Sunday

The average age of the top-three finishers in Sunday’s race was the youngest in NASCAR history. Test sessions hosted by NASCAR there yesterday and today involve at least 14 drivers and teams in preparation for the race. He deftly managed a new aerodynamic rules package that made cars wickedly loose and on the verge of spinning out, to earn his first victory of 2016 and 15th of his career.

Finishing second Sunday was Hendrick Motorsport’s youngster Chase Elliott in the No. 24 Chevrolet and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson third in the No. 42 Chevrolet, though his vehicle later failed post-race inspection. Elliott said he needed to have been more patient.

It was his second-career win at MI and 15th of his Sprint Cup Series career.

“We’re working on getting these cars to be less aero dependent”, Busch said. “And it’s fun for me”.

The sport’s future is making their presence felt this season, and doing so at a very opportune time.

Like they did previous year with the Kurt and Kyle Busch who both missed some races, NASCAR has given Stewart a wavier that will still make him Chase eligible if he can either win a race and end up in the top-30 or finish in the top-16 in the point standings.

To fill that void NASCAR needs new headliners to emerge.

The 13-time most popular driver Earnhardt has had a couple of his most popular wins at MI, including his snapping a 76-race winless streak at the track in June 2008 and then a 143-race winless streak in June 2012.

“No doubt, they are out of control insane, and it makes it a lot of fun, but you’ve got to think if you’re in that pack a little bit, you’re going faster down the straightaways, you’re getting a huge draft when cars are side-by-side in front of you, and you have no downforce at all”, Logano said.

Although not old enough to rent a auto in most states, Elliott has already fulfilled the expectations that came with being the son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer and Gordon’s handpicked successor to wheel the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports vehicle.

The three-time champion plans to retire at the end of the season.

“It’s not a whole lot different than the other package”, Earnhardt bristled from the garage after a crash knocked him out of the race.

“He’s been in so many scenarios”. “Obviously we all watched it get strung out a little bit, which we weren’t hoping for longer into the runs”. We look back at a wild weekend of racing from the massive two-mile speedway.

Tony Stewart, who produced a seventh-place result, said Goodyear must now concoct a tire to supplement the changes. “That’s just the way life is”.

“I did dumb stuff today, and with that, I can’t expect to win”, Elliott said.

Similar to Elliott, Larson jumped to NASCAR’s highest tour facing considerable expectations.

Just as in last week’s race at Pocono, fuel conservation became an issue. An underwhelming 2015 and slow start to this year dampened Larson’s luster some, but in recent weeks he’s regularly been on the cusp of breaking through. But Keselowski recovered quickly and was back inside the top-five by the third yellow flag on lap 62.

Joey Logano makes a pitstop during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Sunday, June 12, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. “It’s exciting to see”. The win makes him the tenth driver this season to notch a win and in the process all but guarantee himself a spot in the sixteen driver Chase field.

Once viewed as a top-rated prospect that failed to reach his potential, Logano has undergone a career resurgence since joining Team Penske three years ago. Practices are one thing; race conditions with 40 cars going all out in a knot on restarts saw cars sliding in turns.

Kasey Kahne, who finished 13th, said it was “definitely hairy” driving in traffic.

Y’all remember last week when I wrote all those things about the goodness that is NASCAR’s crop of young drivers? “I’ve still got plenty of time left”.

On that last stop on lap 52, Elliott went into and came out of the pit in the top spot. And with Elliott and Larson in tow, a resounding message was delivered on Sunday.