Can Joey Logano Bounce Back From the Disappointing End to His 2023 Season?

Calling Joey Logano’s 2023 season grim or dull would be an understatement. The driver who dominated the field in 2022, snagging the championship and bringing it back to the Ford camp, just couldn’t emulate his past success in 2023 and ended up with just one win out of the 36 races in the schedule. Speaking to a popular YouTube channel, Logano admitted that he got “humbled” after his Bristol elimination, saying, “Life looks a lot different right now, so it just kind of is what it is.” 

Now, hoping for a new chapter in his Cup Series career, Logano is poised for a major turnaround with a stellar run at Daytona, stealing his 29th career pole and his first at the iconic 2.5-mile speedway. But can the driver translate this into a win and bounce back from his dismal season to prove his mettle as a 2-time Cup Series champion? Let us dive a little deeper.

Joey Logano and his #22 crew look for redemption, but can they?

Logano and the #22 Ford Mustang’s stats were mediocre at best last year. Two poles during the 36-race season, a single early-season victory at Atlanta, 10 top-5s, and only seven top-10s and that was it for the driver who won the title two times in 2018 and 2022. Despite the long list of accolades and achievements in his Cup Series career including the 32 wins to his name and one-upping his arch-rival Kyle Busch with a well-secured Daytona 500 victory in 2015, Logano’s 2023 season was nowhere near his and his fans’ expectations.

The driver talked about the Ford camp’s vulnerabilities, publicly stating that the manufacturer lacked speed where it mattered the most- the speedways. While Logano tried to do the best he could with his Team Penske equipment, his teammate Ryan Blaney slowly yet steadily climbed the ranks, racking up much-needed points and blasting his way into the playoffs while Logano got ousted in the very first playoff race, consequently ending the season outside the top-10.

On the flip side, Blaney won his first title, bringing back the championship to the Penske camp. However, this leaves little room for error for Logano this season. That’s exactly what he aims to do. And starting off this season, Logano has bagged a well-placed pole performance in the season-opening race in Daytona, being the fastest, posting a lap speed of 181.947 mph en route to the top spot in the lineup.

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Now that Logano has the missing element in his arsenal – speed – back in his #22, this will most certainly be a season of redemption for him. As for Ford, the manufacturer is certainly happy with its dominance this year.

Ford ends HMS Chevys’ reign with Logano leading the fight

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Logano led the Ford to the front row sweep in qualifying for the Daytona 500 with Indy conqueror, Michael McDowell who qualified second behind the #22. It’s an all-Ford front row this year, which marks the first time since 2014 that Hendrick Motorsports did not have a car qualifying on the front row for the 200-lap extravaganza.

According to a report from Wfxtrtv.com, Logano was all praise for his team, rolling out a spectacular car for him. “This is all about the team. I’d like to take credit, but I can’t. Superspeedway qualifying is 100 percent the car, ” said Logano, winning the first Daytona 500 pole for Team Penske. “Finally, someone else wins the pole, ” he added while appreciating Ford’s dominance.

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The rest of the line-up goes with Kyle Larson starting third, followed by Austin Cindric in the fourth place, and Chase Elliott in the fifth spot. A victory at Daytona will put Logano in the elite club who will join greats like Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott to be one of the seven drivers to win a pole at the venue and win the race in the end. Will he be able to do it?