The No. 22 NASCAR Ford Mustang driven by Joey Logano seemed like it would be the machine everyone would be chasing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Cup Series race on March 5th, 2023 – but unfortunate circumstances relegated Logano to a last place finish.
Logano poled the No. 22 Mustang during Saturday’s qualifying session, and he took the green flag from the front row and led the first few laps. However, on Lap 183, Logano’s No. 22 Mustang ended up on the high side of a three-wide battle, with Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 NASCAR Ford and Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 below him. Keselowski’s No. 6 Mustang squeezed Logano’s No. 22 Mustang into the wall, causing him to spin.
Logano’s crew could not repair the No. 22 Mustang before the allotted seven-minute time limit was up, forcing his early retirement from the race. When asked whether Keselowski’s No. 6 Mustang had forced the No. 22 Mustang into the wall, Logano said, “Yeah, he did. I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it. It is what it is. What are you going to do, right? We got fenced.”
Ultimately, Logano’s No. 22 NASCAR Ford was credited with a 36th-place finish, dead last. The highest-finishing Blue Oval team was the No. 2 Mustang of Austin Cindric, who quietly finished sixth, while Kevin Harvick brought home a ninth-place finish in the No. 4 Mustang. Keselowski took the No. 6 Mustang home in 17th. Meanwhile, Chevy continued its domination of the Cup Series season, as William Byron’s No. 24 Camaro swept both stages at Vegas as well as the checkered flag.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 271 | 176 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 271 | 63 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 11 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 271 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 13 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportwear Company Toyota | 271 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 5 | 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | SiriusXM Toyota | 271 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 9 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Discount Tire Ford | 271 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 15 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 271 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 27 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 271 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 14 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Rheem Ford | 271 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 24 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 271 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 271 | 10 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 12 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | GlobalTranz Chevrolet | 271 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Pennzoil Ford | 271 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 5 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Alsco Chevrolet | 271 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 34 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Monster Energy Toyota | 271 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 16 | 21 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 271 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 7 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Fastenal Ford | 271 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 23 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 271 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 270 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 19 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | EnviroXstream Chevrolet | 270 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 18 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Nexletol Ford | 270 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | He Get us Toyota | 270 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 31 | 41 | Ryan Preece | HaasTooling.com Ford | 270 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 16 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Smith's/Coca-Coal Zero Sugar Chevrolet | 270 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 17 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Quincy Compressor Ford | 270 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 35 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 269 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | 269 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 20 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 269 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 32 | 9 | Josh Berry(i) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 269 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 25 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 269 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 28 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Ruedebusch Ford | 268 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 36 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Circle B Diecast Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 29 | 15 | JJ Yeley | OTR Mobile Ford | 265 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | NationsGuard Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 30 | 51 | Cody Ware | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 259 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Pennzoil Ford | 183 | 9 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
Subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing news, NASCAR news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comments
He still fared better than Chase Elliott
Too soon my guy 😂
Looks like the Camaro’s really put a whooping on them Ford boys!
Just like last year, the aero downforce is out of whack, Nascar will do nothing to make it even.
Gave up watching years ago. Became a parade, all controlled by NASCAR not the racing it use to be. But then again nothing is
Lol. If NASCAR “controlled” racing, then Dale Jr. would have performed a hell of a lot better than he did.
What should be more worrying is the week after week poor performance of Harrison Burton and the Wood Brothers. Great team not even close to getting a top 5 or top 10.