Logano perfect in Xfinity race at Bristol

Apr 19, 2015 - 1:33 AM Bristol, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Joey Logano won a Xfinity Series race for the second time this season with a flawless performance in Saturday's Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Starting second, Logano passed Erik Jones, the pole sitter, on the opening lap and led all 300 laps around this 0.533-mile, high-banked oval. He set a series record for most laps led in a race.

Logano, a Sprint Cup Series regular, claimed his 23rd career win in Xfinity, including his second at Bristol. He started second and led a total of 81 laps to win the August 2012 race here.

The eighth and final caution set up a 13-lap shootout to the finish. After the last restart, Logano easily pulled away from the field and went on to finish 1.172 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Daniel Suarez, a rookie in Xfinity this season.

Logano became the 19th driver to lead every lap in a Xfinity race. Kyle Busch was the last driver to accomplish that feat, leading all 250 laps at Richmond in September 2014.

"I've never led every single lap in a race before," Logano said. "That's amazing. You're waiting for something to go wrong. It was such a fast car. We got those late cautions, so I was thinking, 'Where am I going to blow this thing?' It was a perfect day."

Logano is scheduled to start sixth in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Bristol. The weather might be an issue for that event, with a 90 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the forecast here on Sunday afternoon.

Suarez, a 23-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, scored his career-best finish in Xfinity with his second-place run. He is driving for Joe Gibbs Racing this season.

"This second place is just unbelievable," Suarez said. "I feel super happy for my team, and I believe we are building a lot of confidence. I just can't explain with words what I'm feeling right now, but I'm very happy."

Chris Buescher finished third, while Jones, who won his first career Xfinity race last weekend at Texas, placed fourth. Ty Dillon was fifth.

Buescher moved into a tie with Dillon for the lead in the Xfinity point standings. Each driver has accumulated 258 points for the season.

"We're tied for the points lead, which is pretty cool," Buescher said. "I wish we could have gotten just one more (finishing position ahead), but it was a really good day."

Chase Elliott, the defending series champion, finished sixth and fell 12 points behind the leaders.

Kevin Harvick, the defending Sprint Cup titleholder, had challenged Logano for the lead until Harvick was penalized for speeding on pit road during a round of stops on lap 175. He ended up finishing seventh.