Joey Logano Outlasts Brad Keselowski to Win NASCAR at Richmond 2017

Joey Logano fended off Brad Keselowski to win the Toyota Owners 400 Sunday at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.

Logano only led 25 of the race's 400 laps but did well to keep Keselowski at bay over the final stretch. Keselowski emerged as the only potential challenger for Logano and the No. 22 car denied him any possible opening to retake the lead.

Fox Sports: NASCAR shared a replay of the final lap:

"

.@JoeyLogano holds off teammate Brad @Keselowski to WIN at @RIRinsider.

1-2 finish in Virginia for @Team_Penske. https://t.co/4Vgk7bjHg1

— FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 30, 2017"

Penske Racing celebrated the 1-2 finish:

Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five. The full leaderboard is available on NASCAR's official site. 

Pos.	Driver	Laps Led
1	Joey Logano	25
2	Brad Keselowski	110
3	Denny Hamlin	59
4	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0
5	Kevin Harvick	11
6	Jamie McMurray	0
7	Ryan Newman	25
8	Kurt Busch	0
9	Aric Almirola	0
10	Martin Truex Jr.	0

With the win, Logano climbs to fifth in the Chase for the Monster Energy Cup standings, per ESPN.com:

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Brad Keselowski	327	2
2	Jimmie Johnson	270	2
3	Kyle Larson	398	1
4	Martin Truex Jr.	358	1
5	Joey Logano	333	1
6	Ryan Newman	225	1
7	Kurt Busch	192	1
8	Chase Elliott	346	0
9	Kevin Harvick	286	0
10	Jamie McMurray	282	0
11	Clint Bowyer	261	0
12	Kyle Busch	235	0
13	Denny Hamlin	231	0
14	Ryan Blaney	229	0
15	Trevor Bayne	216	0
16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	201	0

Logano savored the victory with a post-race burnout and Victory Lane celebration:

ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted how Logano pulled off an impressive turnaround in capturing the checkered flag:

Logano qualified for fifth place, but NASCAR announced he'd have to start from the back of the field after changing his transmission.

After climbing up the leaderboard, the 26-year-old's masterstroke came with 23 laps to go.

Sitting in first place, he held off until the last minute to commit to pit road during a caution. Kyle Busch—in second place—was waiting to see what Logano did before making a decision. As a result, Busch didn't have enough time to get his car all the way inside the commitment square before hitting pit road, which drew a penalty.

Fox Sports: NASCAR provided a replay of the penalty and Busch's succinct comment about the incident:

After Logano and Busch came to blows earlier in the year, Sunday's race will do little to ease the tension between the two drivers.

Matt Kenseth got off to a great start before fading steadily as the race went on. Kenseth collected 10 points for winning the first stage and led 164 laps on the day.

However, Kenseth began slipping in the final stage and caught debris under the No. 20, which resulted in a blown right rear tire. Motor Racing Network shared a photo of Kenseth heading for pit road:

While Kenseth returned to the race, he lost precious time working his way around the track on the blown tire and getting it replaced. He finished in 23rd.

The Monster Energy Series heads to the Talladega Superspeedway for next Sunday's Geico 500. Keselowski enters as the defending champion after edging out Kyle Busch.

Keselowski has enjoyed a lot of success at Talladega, winning four out of 16 races. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the most wins (six) of any active driver, while Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott are tied for the highest average finish (8.5) going back to the last four events at the track, per DriverAverages.com.

Keselowski will likely be somewhat disappointed by his second-place finish after he led 110 laps and won the second stage. His strong record at Talladega bodes well for his fortunes next week.