NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joey Logano kept just enough fuel in his tank to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, earning his first win of 2024 in what has been an off-performance season for the two-time series champion.
Logano survived five overtime restarts as drivers continuously wrecked in attempts to earn spots late. The increasing laps forced by the overtime periods made many of the leaders close on fuel mileage and many ran out of fuel on the track.
"It's been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the playoffs," Logano said. "Being able to win here is huge for our season."
Logano went over 110 laps without pitting for fuel on his way to the win. Most drivers didn't go more than 90 laps.
Denny Hamlin was seemingly in position to win until Austin Cindric spun out with two laps to go. That prompted an overtime finish with several drivers looking to make their bid at a win.
Kyle Larson got loose in the first turn of the first overtime attempt and clipped Ross Chastain. The contact sent Chastain into the wall and created a stack-up that collected Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, and William Byron.
The second overtime restart lasted under a lap after Harrison Burton and Ryan Preece made contact, collecting Corey Heim and others.
Kyle Larson ran out of fuel in the front row on the following restart, causing Kyle Busch to check up and get spun into the wall. The fourth overtime restart nearly made it the distance until Josh Berry was spun out.
Logano led the field to the fifth overtime restart and somehow had enough fuel to hold off Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick, who finished second and third. Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five.
Denny Hamlin started on the pole but it was his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell who quickly took over the top spot.
No caution flags flew during the first stage, creating a long green flag run that left some drivers desperate for a win on a different pit strategy than the leaders. Bell cycled back into the lead after pit stops and won stage one with Hamlin on his bumper.
John Hunter Nemechek spun out in stage two to bring out the first caution for an incident. Ty Gibbs spun shortly after while running in the top 10.
Rain hit the track just short of the halfway mark, prompting an hour-long rain flag period.
Bell continued to lead after the rain delay and easily won stage two.
Chase Elliott spun out on his own on lap 218 while running around the top five. Elliott suffered minimal damage in the spin and recovered to finish 18th.
Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, and others stayed off pit road while those who did pit were split between taking two tires or four tires. This left leaders like Bell and Hamlin further back in the field.
Bell pushed his car deep in a turn while trying to pick up spots and lost control of his car. Bell spun out and slammed the wall, leaving him in 36th place instead of taking a second win in a row.
Blaney led after Bell's spin but was short on fuel. Chastain got around him to take the lead and hoped to drive off from Hamlin, who appeared to have the best car in the field while still climbing through traffic.
Hamlin caught the back of Chastain with around 15 laps to go. It took him some time to make the pass on Chastain, who is still seeking his first win of 2024. With five laps to go, Hamlin got around Chastain for the lead and seemingly the win.
Then, with two laps to go, Austin Cindric spun out and forced an overtime finish. Hamlin and other leaders were really tight on fuel and it was unclear how many restarts their cars could survive.
In between the five overtime restarts, Hamlin pitted for fuel and lost his bid at the win.
The NASCAR Cup Series is next in action on July 7 for the Chicago Street Race. Shane Van Gisbergen is the defending winner.