It was not a good day of qualifying for the Ford cars on Saturday ahead of the second playoff race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series in Kansas. Indianapolis winner Michael McDowell qualified highest of all the Fords in 7th place, followed by defending Cup champion Joey Logano in 11th. The Team Penske man was understandably disappointed as he will have a lot of cars around him to contend with.

The reigning Cup Series champion had a decent, but not great result at Darlington last weekend. Logano finished in 12th place, earning 25 points in the process. The Team Penske man would like to get through the pack to the front. But his starting position will not do him any favors. He believes that there will be a lot of things to worry about, especially during the restarts.

Joey Logano Pinpoints Issue With Car That Was ‘Not Quick Enough’

Race cars are required to be as perfectly fine-tuned as possible before every race and qualifying. A qualifying session is when one sees the true speed of the car without hindrances. It usually gives everyone a clear idea of how each team will perform on the race day.

For Logano, what he experienced is something he would not want to happen on Sunday. One reason why the reigning champion could not get into the top 10 was the car’s balance. In the post-qualifying press conference, he said that the balance of the car was not right and that it simply just wasn’t fast enough. Logano issued a warning to the entire grid. He said there may be havoc in Kansas as “everyone is going to be really aggressive with each other”. 

“The balance was too tight in four. We were trending okay right before that, just got too tight. We were not quick enough and we need to go to work,” Logano said.

However, being not fast enough is not the only issue the Team Penske man said he would face on Sunday. Due to his starting position, a big issue that will arise for him will be the pack of drivers around him who will not give their rivals an inch of space.

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“I think on the restarts, everyone is going to be really aggressive with each other. So, you just hope you’re in the right place at the right time on these restarts, pick the right lanes, and do the right things,” the reigning champion added.

He might have finished in a decent 12th position last week at Darlington, but Joey Logano was not a happy man on track. And part of his anger was directed at 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace whose error compromised Logano’s race.

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At the end of the first stage in Darlington, Wallace found himself outside the top 10. The aggressive racer tried to make a move to sneak into that group to get bonus points but ended up hitting Logano’s #22 instead.

As a result, Logano’s car spun out and he lost a lot of track position which proved detrimental to his race. It is a testament to the reigning champion’s skills that he still managed to finish in a decent 12th place but he was not happy with Bubba.

“Oh, what an idiot! That one might have knocked the toe out in the back. I don’t know,” Logano exclaimed in frustration on his radio after the incident.

At the end of the trace, Wallace was apologetic about what he did to Logano’s #22, and also to AJ Allmendinger’s #16, stating that he just did not execute his plans well.

“I just made silly mistakes, dumb mistakes to the #22 and #16 and they made it hell, rightfully so. Apologies to them. Just did not execute as a driver today and felt really good going into the race. But got some regrouping to do and some things to figure out. Going to Kansas gotta regroup and move forward,” the 23XI Racing man said.

The roles have been reversed in Kansas as Bubba Wallace will start the race just one place in front of Joey Logano this time. Will the Team Penske man be able to get into the top 10 by the end of the first lap? Where will he be at the end of stage one? Only time will tell.

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