Homestead, FL – Joey Logano, the pole sitter for the Sprint Cup Series season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will have to start from the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary vehicle during Saturday's practice session.
Logano, who claimed his second pole of the season on Friday at Homestead, was involved in an accident with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, and Greg Biffle from Roush Fenway Racing. While running side-by-side, Hamlin and Biffle made contact and hit the wall. Logano was running behind them before he was collected in the crash.
"I don't think that (Hamlin) thought we were three-wide," Biffle said. "He thought we were two-wide. Ultimately, we may not have been three-wide at that particular time, but my spotter told me to leave the 20 (Logano) room, and I left the 20 room. Whether he was there or not, maybe the 20 said, 'I've had enough. You're three-wide, and this is practice.' I don't know."
Hamlin and Biffle will also rely on their backup cars for Sunday's 400-mile race.
Since Logano will start from the back of the field, points leader Brad Keselowski will move up to the front starting position. Keselowski qualified on the inside of row two, but the drivers on the inside lane and not the outside lane of the field for this race will advance their positions. Therefore, Keselowski goes from third to first.
The position change could benefit Keselowski, who currently holds a 20-point lead over Jimmie Johnson.
Keselowski will clinch his first Sprint Cup championship as well as the first title for team owner Roger Penske in NASCAR's premier series if Keselowski finishes 15th or better, regardless of Johnson's performance here. He can also be guaranteed the title if he finishes 16th and leads at least one lap or places 17th after leading the most laps.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.