Joey Logano was able to steer clear of chaos in the closing laps of the opening Stage of Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard and he was able to take the Stage 1 victory.
Logano was holding off Kyle Larson when a huge crash erupted behind the pack involving Erik Jones and Logano’s Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski.
Jones slammed the rear of his car into the outside fence, while Keselowski careened across the track and slammed into an inside track tire barrier. The impact sent Keselowski’s No. 2 car onto its side. Keselowski and Jones would walk away.
Behind Logano and Larson was Kevin Harvick, who had dominated the Stage by leading the opening 42 laps of the event. However, pit strategy relegated Harvick to a third-place finish in the Stage.
Ryan Blaney and Ryan Newman rounded out the top-five in the Stage.
Jimmie Johnson who is battling Newman and Daniel Suarez for the final Playoff berth, ended up sixth.
Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Chris Buescher were seventh through 10th in Stage 1.
Suarez, who entered the day tied with Newman for the final Playoff spot, slapped the wall early in the Stage. He would end Stage 1 in 19th spot.
Another hard crash happened in the Stage when Landon Cassill had an issue. His No. 00 car veered straight in the turn and he walloped the wall. Luckily, Cassill was uninjured in the incident.
