NASCAR Richmond 2014 results: Joey Logano wins Toyota Owners 400, cements Chase bid

Joey Logano was penciled into a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Now you can write his name in indelible ink.

Taking advantage of beating and banging in front of him during a nine -lap green-flag run to the finish, Logano surged from the fifth starting spot to his second victory of the season in Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Logano picked up his second win of the season, his first at Richmond and the fifth of his career. Jeff Gordon came home second and retained the points lead. On fresh tires after a late pit stop, Kyle Busch drove from 16th to third in the final run.

Brad Keselowski ran fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth, who led the field to the final restart on lap 392 but lost positions as he battled with Keselowski.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished seventh after experiencing late brake problems, won a race off pit road under caution for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.‘s fiery right front tire and led the field to green on Lap 305. One lap later, however, Logano passed Earnhardt for the top spot and pulled out to a lead of more than a half-second, with Penske teammate Keselowski in tow.

But Gordon won a drag race against Keselowski through Turns 3 and 4 to grab the second spot on Lap 332. Six laps later, Gordon passed Logano for the lead as the No. 22 Ford began to fade.

During that green-flag run, however, Kenseth began to assert himself, driving from sixth on the Lap 305 restart to the lead on Lap 362. Five laps after Kenseth wrested the top spot from Gordon, Jimmie Johnson’s tire issue in Turn 2 caused seventh caution and brought the field to pit road for fresh rubber.

Kenseth was first out of the pits for a restart on Lap 367, but on the restart lap, Denny Hamlin spun in Turn 3 to bring out caution No. 8. After two more cautions, Logano came from fifth to first after the final restart to win the race.

Toyota Owners 400 finishing order

1. (17) Joey Logano, Ford, 400, $274081.

2. (25) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $220211.

3. (19) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400, $187666.

4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400, $162258.

5. (12) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 400, $159261.

6. (14) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 400, $122448.

7. (13) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400, $104065.

8. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 400, $98890.

9. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 400, $104165.

10. (22) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 400, $116173.

11. (5) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, $126548.

12. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 400, $118740.

13. (7) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 400, $118504.

14. (4) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 400, $99565.

15. (26) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, $125565.

16. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400, $122085.

17. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400, $119201.

18. (11) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 400, $108335.

19. (34) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 400, $105823.

20. (33) David Gilliland, Ford, 400, $104798.

21. (31) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 400, $100823.

22. (28) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400, $88890.

23. (21) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 400, $77190.

24. (9) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 400, $107654.

25. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 399, $114948.

26. (43) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 398, $76765.

27. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 398, $125351.

28. (24) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 398, $89237.

29. (30) David Reutimann, Ford, 397, $79465.

30. (37) David Ragan, Ford, 396, $88690.

31. (8) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 396, $79065.

32. (10) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 396, $129851.

33. (23) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 396, $78290.

34. (35) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 395, $83665.

35. (38) David Stremme, Chevrolet, 395, $75465.

36. (32) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 394, $75285.

37. (41) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 391, $83146.

38. (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 390, $106005.

39. (39) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 390, $66180.

40. (42) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Engine, 380, $62180.

41. (40) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 367, $58180.

42. (36) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Electrical, 225, $54180.

43. (3) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, Suspension, 159, $91071.