There are some critics out there that may feel as if Joey Logano did not deserve the win in Sunday’s rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Not a factor during the majority of the event, Logano earned two free passes and overcame a spin to score the victory. Sure the race was rain-shortened, no, he did not have the fastest car on the track, but in the end the 19-year-old rookie was the one hoisting the trophy – and that is all that matters.

“I mean, yeah, we got lucky, obviously,” Logano admitted after the race. “The rain came just at the right time.  But yeah, it's cool.  A win's a win in my book any way you look at it.”

Some out there may feel that when a driver wins a race on account of either rain or fuel mileage somehow the victory is lessened. Yet, for those behind the wheel, a win is a win is a win. There are no asterisks attached.

Last month in Charlotte, David Reutimann was able to score his first Cup Series win – also in a rain-shortened event. After stopping on pit road for the red flag, the driver of the No. 00 made his way down to Logano in the No. 20.

“Reutimann came up to me and says, "I found it's best not to leave your car."  He went through the same situation not too long ago,” Logano explained. “We were laughing about that, so it's cool to see those guys come up to you.”

The man Logano replaced in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing ride knows a thing or two about winning any way possible. Just three weeks ago in Pocono, Tony Stewart was able to coast home to score his first victory as an owner/driver. Sunday in New Hampshire, the driver that brought home two Cup Series championships to JGR offered his congratulations and a bit of advice to Logano.

"It's like I told Joey,” Stewart said, “I said 10 years down the road, nobody's ever going to know how this win came, but the thing is, they still had to earn it.  They did a good job strategy-wise.  For them, it makes up for the one we lost here last year because of rain.  I'm happy with our run, but proud for those guys too."

One year ago the situation in New Hampshire was similar, but on Sunday Kurt Busch found the roles reversed. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge used pit strategy and a good eye on the radar to score the win in that rain-shortened event, but on this day Busch was trying to do it the hard way. Battling with Jeff Gordon for much of the race, Busch had one of the strongest cars of the afternoon. When the caution flew for rain, the former series champion was disappointed he could not get around the No. 24, but even more disappointed to learn they were battling for runner-up.

“I had no idea the 20 car was the leader,” Busch admitted. “I found out they were throwing a yellow and the 20 was leading at the same time, so kind of a bummer.”

Whenever a race comes down to fuel mileage or rain, it can become extremely confusing not only for the fans, but as Busch illustrated, for the men behind the wheel. The fastest car does not always win the race, but the point of a race is not to be the fastest car. A race is an endurance event that tests the skills and abilities of all involved – driver, crew chief, pit crew, even the guys back at the shop. When a race comes down to a matter of Mother Nature or fumes in the gas tank, the ones that typically come out on top are the ones you’d least expect, the ones that saw an opportunity and decided to take a risk.

“Obviously everything the end of the day went our way,” winning crew chief Greg Zipadelli pointed out. “You can't control the weather.  The only thing we can do is try to play it to our hand.”

Luckily for Logano, Zipadelli and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team that hand turned out to be the winning call – no asterisks attached.

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