Xfinity win at Las Vegas leaves Joey Logano giddy

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story included the incorrect time of Joey Logano's last Cup win. It was Nov. 13, at Phoenix Raceway.

LAS VEGAS — After Joey Logano successfully navigated through five late restarts and a local ringer in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to win the Boyd Gaming 300 on Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he was downright giddy, laughing and smiling widely.

A series of questions and answers drifted off tangent, and when someone inquired about 58-year-old Mark Martin — who won the first NASCAR race in Las Vegas, in 1998 — and if he'll be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame this year, Logano did not hesitate.

“He raced with Ben-Hur?” said the 26-year-old Connecticut native.

A few dozen media members roared in the work room, whose windows overlook the LVMS finish line, and Logano immediately said he regretted talking too much. But he held his grin. And he kept talking with enthusiasm.

Logano powered Team Penske’s No. 12 REV Ford Mustang to a race-best 106 lap leads, and it was his 28th Xfinity victory, eighth on the all-time series chart. Kyle Larson finished second in his No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet.

Las Vegas native Kyle Busch led 48 laps but faded at the end and finished seventh. He has won 87 times in the series, far ahead of Logano, and the aforementioned Martin (second, with 49 wins, none in a Ben-Hur-sponsored rig) and Kevin Harvick (29 wins).

It was Logano’s third consecutive victory in the No. 12 Mustang since competing at Watkins Glen last season.

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“I’m proud of that,” he said. “That’s a fast car. (Crew chief) Brian (Wilson) did a good job to unload with quite a bit of speed. We were able to pull some good strategy today, hold off the 18 (Busch). There were plenty of opportunities to screw it up at the end. Every time I thought I had the race won, (there was) another caution. I thought it was the race that would never end.”

Logano will begin Sunday’s Kobalt 400, in the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford for Team Penske, in the third row. His last triumph in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series came in November, at Phoenix Raceway.

For another Las Vegan, Saturday was harsh. Of all the cars that finished the race, Brendan Gaughan came in last in his 500th NASCAR-related race (35th) in his No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet.

Friday, he talked about not telling his father, famous casino owner Michael Gaughan, about replacing two South Point stickers on his rig with City of Light Shine emblems, representing his flavored whiskey moonshine venture. Late Saturday afternoon, he was ready for a sip of that shine. “A whole bottle.”

Results

Saturday At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas

Lap length: 1.5 miles (Starting position in parentheses)

1. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 200.

2. (7) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200.

3. (3) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200.

4. (13) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.

5. (5) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.

6. (16) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 200.

7. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200.

8. (14) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.

9. (10) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200.

10. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.

11. (20) Cole Custer, Ford, 200.

12. (19) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 200.

13. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.

14. (18) William Byron, Chevrolet, 200.

15. (12) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 200.

16. (11) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 200.

17. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200.

18. (27) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.

19. (22) Drew Herring, Toyota, 200.

20. (21) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 200.

21. (28) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 200.

22. (23) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 200.

23. (24) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 200.

24. (9) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 199.

25. (26) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199.

26. (25) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 198.

27. (31) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 198.

28. (37) David Starr, Chevrolet, 197.

29. (34) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 197.

30. (36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 196.

31. (29) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, 196.

32. (35) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, 196.

33. (32) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 195.

34. (6) Matt Tifft, Toyota, Accident, 191.

35. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 189.

36. (33) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Accident, 177.

37. (39) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Brakes, 159.

38. (38) Brandon Hightower, Chevrolet, Vibration, 18.

39. (40) Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet, Accident, 4.

40. (30) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Electrical, 1.

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 118.525 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 31 Mins, 52 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.602 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 44 laps.

Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Busch 1-48; K. Larson 49-74; J. Logano 75; K. Larson 76-80; B. Keselowski 81-92; J. Logano 93-142; K. Larson 143-144; J. Yeley 145; J. Logano 146-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Logano 3 times for 106 laps; K. Busch 1 time for 48 laps; K. Larson 3 times for 33 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 12 laps; J. Yeley 1 time for 1 lap.