Joey Logano thrives under pressure. The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion proved that last year when he pulled off one of the most dramatic playoff runs in recent memory. With his back against the wall, Logano won at Nashville to secure his spot in the playoffs. Then, he advanced with another victory in Atlanta. A risky fuel strategy in Las Vegas put him in the Championship 4, and he sealed the deal with a dominant win in Phoenix.

His run wasn’t flawless, but the three-time Cup Series Champion knew how to play the game. He understood NASCAR’s playoff format and walked away with his third championship in the last seven years. After conquering the sport yet again, Logano didn’t shy away from embracing his ability to deliver under pressure. “I want more pressure on me. I want more on my team… It makes it more uncomfortable. It sucks. But it makes us better,” Logano said at the time.

But now, just months later, Logano is in a completely different situation. Instead of talking about thriving under pressure, he’s struggling to find answers. Since the start of the 2025 season, the Team Penske drivers have struggled, and Logano is no different. Six races into the 2025 season, the defending champ is finding it difficult to find his winning mojo. Ahead of the Martinsville race weekend, the driver shared his thoughts on early jitters and surprisingly, he wasn’t bummed to have mediocre results to start the new year.

Frustration mounts for Joey Logano as Team Penske continues to struggle!

Joey Logano faced a lot of backlash after clinching the 2024 championship. Despite playing by the book, many fans didn’t agree with it as they called the playoff format flawed. With such a harsh response, the defending champion joined the 2025 season with a target on his back. He was aiming to prove himself, but things took an unexpected turn. In six races, he has yet to finish inside the top 10. It’s his worst start since joining Team Penske in 2013, and statistically, it’s the worst start for any reigning champion in the playoff era.

Now, ahead of the seventh race of the season at Martinsville, Logano addressed the concerning situation. The Team Penske driver believes that the speed is there, but execution is the problem. “Speed—it’s like we have decent speed. We’ve been on the hunt, but we just got to have things work out correctly… Usually, execution is what our strength is… Some of it is self-induced. Some of it is just, like, not the best of luck,” he told NASCAR SiriusXM Radio.

Notably, Luck is something Logano knows well. In 2024, things fell into place at the right time. His playoff run saw him capitalize on mistakes by other teams and make bold strategic decisions. He won at Vegas when strategy played in his favor. Then, he capitalized on a strong restart at Phoenix. But now, it feels like the opposite. “We won Vegas, and it’s like, ‘That just worked out.’ Then you start the season off, and it’s like, ‘We can’t do anything correct, right?’ Stuff just keeps happening,” Logano explained.

Joey Logano‘s comments suggest that he understands the ebb and flow of the sport. Team Penske has found the secret sauce to get the most out of their teams in the Next Gen era. They have won all three championships since 2022, with Logano winning twice and Blaney once. One thing that always stood out was that the Penske stars sprung to life late in the postseason. So this slow start shouldn’t be a worry for Logano, right? But it looks like Team Penske might have bigger issues to solve this year.

Despite the rough start, Joey Logano still sits 11th in the standings, largely due to his ability to collect stage points. He’s 30 points above the playoff cut line without a top-10 finish, proving that he knows how to stay in the mix even when things aren’t going his way. Not to forget, the No. 22 Ford has led the most (247)  laps in this season so far, so they’ve got the speed but they lack execution. However, there are reasons for concern.

Logano isn’t the only Penske driver struggling—his teammate, Ryan Blaney, has also faced serious issues. Blaney has suffered three DNFs in the last three races, with two coming from engine failures. The defending champion admits that the team needs to figure out what’s going wrong with Blaney’s No. 12 Ford Mustang. “I’m not here to publicize what happened. But that’s just kind of how you do it. Once you understand it, you can fix it,” Logano said.

That’s the challenge for Logano and his team. They need to fix their issues before the season gets away from them. If Penske is struggling with performance and reliability, Logano’s problems might not just be bad luck. There could be deeper team-wide issues that will take time to solve. For now, Logano and co. have their eyes set on Martinsville, where he will start from the seventh position. However, ahead of the race, one of Logano’s rivals seems to have agreed on a peace deal for now.

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Austin Dillon moves ahead of Logano!

Austin Dillon and Joey Logano have had their share of run-ins. Their infamous clash at Richmond last season—where Dillon spun Logano and hooked Denny Hamlin—caused an uproar. But despite that controversial finish, Dillon now claims his rivalry with Logano has cooled. However, he isn’t letting go of all past feuds.

In a recent interview with Jeff Gluck, Dillon acknowledged that his battles with Logano have become more respectful. “Joey and I, after Richmond, have raced each other cleaner. So not bad there,” Dillon said. However, while Dillon may have moved past his issues with Logano, he hasn’t let go of his grudge against Ricky Stenhouse Jr. While speaking about his rivalries, he took a direct aim at Stenhouse Jr.

“Ricky Stenhouse is a pain. I feel like it’s because we’ve raced around each other so long, but I don’t get it,” he said. Notably, the bad blood between Dillon and Stenhouse has been brewing since their Xfinity Series days when both were champions. Stenhouse won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, while Dillon followed in 2013. Yet, their Cup Series careers have been less spectacular. Dillon has just one Cup win, and Stenhouse has four. Now, with the first short track race of the season on cards, fans would expect some fireworks from Martinsville this Sunday.