Joey Logano came out the winner in another rain shortened race, the youngest to win ever, at 19 years of age.

The Lennox Industrial Tools 301 got underway on time, but with a threat of rain as is normal for this time of year in Loudon. 

Before 18 laps had been run we'd already seen 3 cautions, leading this fan to believe it was going to be a long day indeed.

In the early laps, although Jimmie Johnson would lead the most laps, it was hard to call him a clearly dominant car.  Always nearby was Kurt Busch and Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon. 

Perhaps the surprises in the second half of the race were Martin Truex Jr, searching for a birthday present and Dale Earnhardt Jr who moved into the top 5 after his crew made small changes on each pitstop.  Another surprise of the day was Sam Hornish Jr, a former open wheeler, who managed to stay in the top ten almost the entire day, eventually finishing 8th.  Sam has improved weekly and is finally getting results for al his hard work.

Jeff Gordon took over the lead, but again, last year's winner Kurt Busch remained in second place.  And my pick, Tony Stewart, was running solidly in the top 5.

On lap 178 on the restart, with the cars in close quarters, Dale Jr had trouble getting going, and when Martin Truex Jr right behind him checked up, Kyle Busch  got into the back of him.  The result was a train wreck that brought out the red flag, ending the day for a number of great cars, including 2 of the 3 RCR cars.  Both Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton were complacent about the wreck, althought both had been near the front, a rarity of late for RCR.

The TNT crew claimed it was "just a racing deal" but from the overhead view, to this fan at least, it seemed Busch did get a little impatient.  Certainly Martin thought so, too as he came very close to throwing his helmet at Kyle as he drove by.  No Happy Birthday to Truex Jr this weekend.

Jeff Burton exclaimed that the wreck was the result of drivers getting aggressive as the laps wound down and not the result of the double file restarts.  He was quick to point out that they are all quite capable of wrecking in single file as well, but that the double file starts adds to excitement, close quarters, and undoubtedly more chances for wrecks.

After a brief red flag, the track was cleared, and the green flew again.....for a lap.  Almost immediately Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and David Reutimann got together, resulting in a cut tire for Joey and bringing out the caution again to clear the debris.

That was unfortunate, as Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson were having one helluva battle up front for the top spot.  Tony would eventually take over the lead and would hang on to the top spot
for 40 odd laps.  

Eventually, the race would come down to fuel mileage and rain. with some teams pitting and hoping the rain would hold off while others gambled, including Ryan Newman, who took over the lead from Tony.  He would run out on the track and have endless trouble trying to get the car re-fired.

Joey Logano assumed the lead when Ryan ran out of gas and only a lap later the yellow came out for rain.  Joey was being asked to conserve fuel as much as possible as he only had enough in the tank for 3 or 4 laps of green flag racing.   A few laps around the track and NASCAR showed the red flag and brought the cars to pit road.  

A short time later, Joey would be declared the winner, the youngest ever to win this race, at 19.  It may not have beent he way he wanted to win the race, but it certainly counts.  His Crew Chief, Greg Zippadelli, and Joey had appropriately enough, been the topic of a spotlight on TNT with Lindsay Zarniac before the race.  This is his "home town track" and Joey had confessed that he was a little bit scared of it. 

No need to be scared any longer Joey. 

Next week the teams are off to Daytona, as our many of our Q-ers.  Hopefully they will come back with some first hand stories and photos to share.