Joey Logano wins Charlotte race, clinches spot in 3rd round of Chase

The race victor was Joey Logano.

Logano took the lead on Lap 77 from Kenseth and showed his strength the rest of the way.

Earnhardt was the second Hendrick Motorsports driver to see his chances of a race win fly out the window because of a tire issue.

And even the little ones came out to enjoy the race, like Maddux, who was enjoying his first race Sunday.

Tony Stewart brushed the wall on Lap 114 but was able to continue in the race.

The 227 laps Logano led were the most laps led by a fall Charlotte victor since Ernie Irvan in 1993. After all pit stops were made, Logano retained the race lead.

Polesitter Matt Kenseth suffered worse than most. As Kenseth struggled, Logano became the class of the field.

Busch finished 20th and he and Kenseth are now in the bottom four of the Chase standings. From there, racing in traffic, he had contact with Ryan Newman that sent him into the wall.

Kenseth led 352 of 400 laps at Richmond.

“And then they didn’t clean up the oil and we hit the wall again”, Earnhardt Jr. said.

“It’s tough, and we’re going to have to battle through with what we’ve got right now”, said Busch, who was eliminated in the second round past year because he was wrecked at Talladega in the elimination race.

Kyle Busch: Busch had a sour Sunday at Charlotte, his day highlighted by a wacky pit-road collision with Kyle Larson.

At age 25, Logano earned his fourth victory of the season and a series-high ninth over the last two years. Busch sustained substantial damage to the right front on his No. 18 Toyota. Earnhardt Jr. also came into the pits where his team continued to work on his vehicle.

For the second week in a row, a driver absolutely dominated a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

“And they didn’t clean-up the oil and we hit the wall again”, he added. Having the guys did a great job on they’re and we have to capitalize. But on lap 195 during a caution Busch made contact with Kyle Larson in a freaky incident. It was also a good day for Denny Hamlin, finishing in fourth after a welcome uneventful day at Charlotte with none of the drama experienced by his JGR team mates. A strong beginning to the 2015 season seems like such a long time ago for the Lowe’s Racing camp. NBCSN will begin coverage at noon, with green flag at 12:30. The last thing to look for is Jimmie Johnson. As a result, he went two laps down. Kenseth remained in the garage and was shown in 40th place.

Logano’s domination might be a question of chicken or egg.

Crashes earlier in the race laid down a coat of fluid that kicked several drivers at different times into the fence. Solve for X: One top-five vehicle + one top-five auto + late indecision = X.

Martin Truex Jr.: Truex lit a new fire under his championship hopes Sunday with a solid third-place finish, easily his best of the Chase.