LONG POND, Pa. – Joey Logano stood on top of the No. 20 high-fiving everyone he could reach in Victory Lane. Beverages were sprayed, fists were pumped and throaty shouts of celebration could be heard well down the 2½-mile track.
It’s what winning a Sprint Cup race is all about.
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It’s what Logano has waited years to truly experience. Not rain nor Mark Martin would deny him this feeling.
Logano gave Martin a well-timed nudge out of the way in the closing laps Sunday at Pocono Raceway to clinch his first victory since 2009 and become the first Sprint Cup driver this season to win from the pole.
The one-time prodigy and the grizzled veteran pushing hard down the stretch was a duel to remember at Pocono.
“I didn’t stop screaming until I got to Victory Lane,” Logano said. “You work so hard to do this.”
This one felt like the first time for Logano after his only other career win in 125 Sprint Cup starts was a rain-shortened victory at New Hampshire. Wins count the same in the record book. But they sure do feel different.
“When you cross the line and you’ve won the race, to me, it’s an amazing feeling,” Logano said.
Logano had the top car all weekend, posting the fastest practice time Friday and then taking the pole Saturday.
Logano, once a much-hyped phenom when he broke in with Joe Gibbs Racing, was under pressure to produce victories in the final year of his four-year contract.
Logano’s win continues a recent uptick of solid results. He has insisted his contract status has not added pressure.
But in Victory Lane, he hoped the victory sent a message to his critics.
“I hope it shuts them all up,” he said. “It means a whole lot.”
Pocono shortened the race by 100 miles this season and got a thrilling finish. Logano led a career-high 49 laps to become the youngest winner at Pocono.
The 53-year-old Martin, looking for his first win since 2009, took the lead with eight laps left. The 22-year-old Logano, though, bumped Martin out of the way and zipped past for the winning move with three laps remaining.
“I’d call that a bump-and-run,” Martin said. “It has been acceptable in this racing for a long time. It’s not how I would have done it. Certainly, had I had a fast enough car, he would have gotten a return.”
Tony Stewart was third, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth.
Martin is all too familiar with his runner-up spot at Pocono. He has yet to win in 51 career Cup races at Pocono and has finished second seven times.
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