Joey Logano was furious at Kansas Speedway. The Team Penske driver has never been shy about expressing himself, and that’s exactly what he did after being forced to pit twice due to a loose wheel. The 34-year-old hoped to begin the Round of 12 with a victory, just as he did in the opening playoff race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, he couldn’t build on his impressive qualifying result and was forced to settle for a 14th-place finish at the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400.

With just six races remaining before the 2024 season ends, time is running out for Logano to find his stride. As things stand, the No. 22 Ford Mustang driver is four points outside the elimination cutline, occupying the final Round of 8 position.

Joey Logano missed an opportunity at Kansas Speedway

It seemed like things were finally working out for Joey Logano. Coming into the weekend at Kansas, the veteran qualified for the race in fifth place, ahead of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney. By the time Stage 1 ended, the Team Penske driver looked in contention for the victory, finishing in second place after the opening 80 laps. However, it all came crashing down during the second stage, when there was trouble on the pit road. The Connecticut native was forced to pit twice under caution on Lap 161 to tighten a loose lug nut on the left rear wheel, dashing his hopes of a top-10 finish.

Predicting Joey Logano‘s challenges at upcoming races, NASCAR YouTuber Eric Estepp said, “He’s great at Talladega. He was also great at Daytona a few weeks ago. Led laps in contention and got wrecked. So much is out of your control there, when you can control things like they could today, you need to capitalize. They did not. I’m a little worried about Joey Logano going into Talladega and then the Roval. Does not have the top 10 on a road course this season so fingers crossed 22 fans.”

Estepp makes a valid point. All three Team Penske drivers, particularly Joey Logano could have competed for a race win at Kansas Speedway, and each of their results was affected by an entirely avoidable circumstance. It’s no coincidence that all three drivers had loose wheel problems at the 1.5-mile oval, and their crews will need to practice their pit stops ahead of the race at Talladega Superspeedway to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated.

Talladega Superspeedway has always been something of a wildcard in the Cup Series calendar, while Charlotte Roval is a hybrid between a road course and an oval track. Both tracks will pose different challenges for Joey Logano before the Round of 8 begins, which means the Team Penske driver has his work cut out for him going forward. Having won the Cup Series twice in his career, Logano has the experience and talent to navigate through this tricky period of the season. Whether he can translate that into results remains to be seen.

Logano reacts to Next-Gen car changes for Talladega

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Ahead of the 2024 YellaWood 500, Cup Series drivers were invited by NASCAR to discuss the modifications that can be made to the Next-Gen cars to prevent them from going airborne. This comes after Corey LaJoie suffered a horrific crash at Michigan International Speedway and Josh Berry flipped upside down at the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400. With cars running at an average speed of 180 miles per hour at Talladega Superspeedway, the sanctioning body is looking to make changes by adding an air deflector to the right side of the windshield.

When asked by Bob Pockrass about the changes that are being made to the Next-Gen car, Joey Logano candidly replied, “There’s a couple of different options. One of them, I don’t feel like is a great option… all to help keep the car on the ground and cars sideways, which all in the right direction for that, but not the best.” When pressed further to elaborate on his comment, the Team Penske driver declined, perhaps because NASCAR wants to keep the details under wraps for now.

Talladega has not been a happy hunting ground for Joey Logano in the past, as the No. 22 Ford driver hasn’t finished inside the top 15 in his last five appearances. The last time he won at ‘The Big One’ was back in 2018, before the Next-Gen car was introduced. Could this finally be the year he enters Victory Lane on the 2.66-mile tri-oval? As long as Team Penske overcomes its pit-stop struggles, anything is possible.