As the NASCAR playoffs heat up, Joey Logano faces a crucial race at the newly revamped ROVAL. It’s hard to picture the playoffs without Logano, who has finished in the Cup Series top 8 in eight of the last ten years. However, with the next race approaching, he finds himself in 9th place and under pressure as this is a cutoff race. The two-time champion is eager to keep his championship hopes alive at the ROVAL.

Since its debut in 2018, ROVAL has gained a reputation for chaos, and recent changes have intensified that unpredictability. Now 2.32 miles long—up from 2.28 miles—the track features a wider Turn 1, creating exciting passing opportunities. While Turns 2, 3, 4, and 5 remain unchanged, the most significant alterations are to Turns 6 and 7. Turn 6 is now a right-hander leading into a hairpin. Turn 7 was previously a tight left-hander. These changes promise to elevate the stakes for drivers, making the ROVAL a must-watch race.

Joey Logano feels the ROVAL changes will create drama

With the rest of the road course being similar to before, except for the backstretch chicane, which has an extra turn, drivers will look to capitalize on the familiar zones and lock in on the tantalizing turns. These minor tweaks, as well as major changes at the ROVAL, have been the talking point for all drivers leading up to this race. With the 28-car pile-up on Talladega still on the back of everyone’s minds, will the ROVAL cause more havoc?

The new track was designed to make passing zones easier, and Joey Logano feels the changes will take some getting used to. “It will definitely be a curveball as we try to figure out where the speed is, how to race around it passing all those type of things so we’ll see when we get out there hopefully we carry some good speed around this place to qualify solid today,” said Joey Logano as he spoke to Stephen Stumpf for Frontstretch in Charlotte.

When asked about how challenging the tracks of these cutoff races are, Logano said with a wry smile on his face, “Definitely they create drama, all of them create drama, all the cars will be close in all those three races right and cars are on top of each other. They’re there for a reason, it’s strategic.” 

The possibility of chaos has increased with these changes, and Joey Logano feels it is a strategic move. It’s hard to look past his logic as the season is on the line for him and other drivers, too; a more challenging race would create more chaos, and chaos sells. The Team Penske driver knows exactly what he needs to do to keep his playoff hopes alive, but does that simplify his prep? When asked, Logano said, “Not quite, it doesn’t quite simplify it because we’re not so far out that you just say win or nothing. We can point our way in from where we’re at so it doesn’t quite simplify the strategy.”

Further clearing all speculations around him being nervous, Logano calmly responded, “[I don’t know if] nervous is the right word, but I mean you’re racing as if you’re in Phoenix for a championship because the whole season’s down today or tomorrow.” Clearly, Team Penske No. 22 has ice in his veins and fire in his heart as he looks to give it all in a do-or-die race for the Penske driver.

What are the playoff-clinching scenarios at the ROVAL for Joey Logano?

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With only eleven drivers fighting for seven playoff spots, the ROVAL has set us up with a platter of high-octane racing to come. With William Byron already clinching a playoff spot on points, his peers will have to fight it out on a daunting road course. Joey Logano is one of many drivers who would instantly clinch a win, although a repeat winner would not be ideal for him.

Logano is currently 13 points below the cutoff line and would hope that he wins the race or someone outside the top eight wins, and he manages to bridge a 13-point gap with stage points. His situation is not dire, but a DNF or a bad pitstop could be the difference between clinching and failing to do so for the Penske driver.

In a rather anti-climactic fashion, all of the round 2 wins so far have come from non-playoff drivers. Ross Chastain at the Kansas Speedway and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Talladega stole the playoff limelight despite being eliminated, and ROVAL is predicted to have a similar trend.

Shane van Gisbergen is a road course master and is expected to win the race at Charlotte. Van Ginsberg placed 2nd at Watkins Glen around a month ago and will look to carry that road course momentum into the ROVAL. Additionally, the 2-time ROVAL winner, Chase Elliott, and defending winner of the track, AJ Allmendinger, are also the potential drivers for the weekend. However, this race is definitely not an easy one to predict, with the new track being an equally daunting challenge for each driver. Who do you think will miss out on the next round?