NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are underway and the first spot in the round of 12 has been booked. It’s none other than Joey Logano, who won the Atlanta race and now has no worries about the next two playoff races at Watkins Glen and Bristol Motor Speedway. Surprisingly, the Penske driver was not a favorite to win in the first playoff race. This was because the two-time Cup Series champion has struggled in the regular season this year.

Without the historic day of multiple overtimes in Nashville, Logano wouldn’t have secured the win needed to clinch a playoff spot, as he didn’t have enough points to advance without a victory. With an average finish of just 18.3 this season, 2024 was shaping up to be Logano’s worst year with Team Penske in the regular season. Despite the Atlanta race victory, NASCAR insiders crown Ryan Blaney as the strongest Penske driver in the playoff lineup.

Joey Logano is not the strongest Penske driver in the 2024 playoffs

In the recent Atlanta race, the decisive battle was between Team Penske and Trackhouse. Ryan Blaney pushed Logano to victory whereas Ross Chastain failed to do the same with Daniel Suarez as he had contact with the wall. Suarez finished in P2 and Blaney in P3. Logano was delighted with his victory. Post the race, he said, “That’s how we start the playoffs, boys! When it is playoff time, it is our time.” The excitement of the #22 is understood as only last year, excitement was replaced by dread. He was knocked out of the round of 16 when he was the defending champion.

Much like last year, this season for him hadn’t been great until the playoffs. The 34-time Cup Series winner only managed a single win in the regular season, with only 4-top 5s. Hence, the Atlanta win for Logano would be a big moral booster, as he wasn’t the strongest Penske driver entering the playoffs. Speaking on the same lines, NASCAR Journalist Alexis Erikson on GoPRNlive, said, “I will say that there has been a little bit of you know not a fall off, but struggle from the 22 team as of late. And so the fact that they were able to come and hit their stride and get out and get a win get that kind of monkey off of their back. They can now smooth sail into Watkins Glen and the Bristol night race without any worries that is huge, huge, huge, for that team.”

Although Logano won the race, Blaney was a favorite to win if a Penske car was to take the chequered flag at the Atlanta track. Also in the conversation was Journalist Brad Gilly, According to whom Ryan Blaney is ahead of all three Penske drivers in performance this season. He said, “Blaney has a couple of wins this year. Austin Cindric had that really epiphany of a day at Gateway which he really had one of the strongest cars and was able to drive it into Victory Lane. But I think Blay’s been the strongest of the three I think Joey acknowledged that Speedways are our strength and really outside of that that 22 team has struggled all season.”

The picture of the most dominant Penske drive is clear from the stats. Opposed to Logano, the defending champion has had a splendid season so far. In the 27 races, he’s bagged 2 wins, twelve top 10s, and eight top 5s, and has an average finish of 15.3. After the Atlanta race, he is leading the playoff standings.

And Cindric, although, was strong in the Atlanta race, winning stage 2 and finishing 2nd in stage 1, has had a disappointing regular season. Bagging one win, the #2 has struggled with consistency. He only managed two top 5s and three top 10s in the regular season. Despite the poor stats of the regular season, the Atlanta race showed a dominant team Penske. Especially when Joe Gibbs and Hendrick Motorsports struggled. However, going into Watkins Glen next, which team will be the dominating force?

Which team is the strongest at Watkins Glen?

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In Penske, Logano is already through to the next round, Blaney is  +45 points above the cutoff line, and Austin Cindiric is 7th with +27 points above the cutoff line. Blaney is currently the third-highest points scorer among all drivers at road courses this season. Cindric, a past winner at Watkins Glen in the Xfinity Series in 2019, has a strong track record on road courses with seven top-10 finishes. However, he’s been struggling recently, with no top 10s in his last six road course races. Last year, Blaney finished 9th and Cindric finished 16th on The Glen.

On the other hand, In HMS, William Byron is 4th with + 33 points, Alex Bowman is 6th with +27 points, Chase Elliot is 8th with +24 points, and lastly, Kyle Larson is 10th with +15 points. Hendrick Motorsports has dominated road course racing this season, winning all three races. Byron, Larson, and Bowman have each claimed a victory, with Bowman leading the series on road course points. However, the team did not have good finishes last year except Byron, who was 1st. Bowman finished 23rd, Elliott finished 32nd and Larson finished 26th on the track.

Finally, in JGR, Christopher Bell is leading the team being in 2nd with +40 points, followed by Denny Hamlin in 11th with +2 points, Ty Gibbs in 13th with +1, and Martin Turex Jr with -19 in the elimination zone. Christopher Bell has consistently performed well at Watkins Glen, finishing in the top 10 in all three of his Cup Series starts there. However, Denny Hamlin has struggled on road courses in the Next Gen era, with only one top-10 finish in 15 races. Despite this, they have a good record on Watkins Glens. Last year, Bell finished 3rd, Hamlin had a P2, Gibbs was 5th and MTJ was 6th.

On paper, JGR looks like the strongest team for the next race. What do you think? Who do you think will be dominant at Watkins Glen International? Let us know in the comments below.