We’d think that Joey Logano and confidence usually go hand in hand. Having said that, the Team Penske driver has been undergoing a struggling phase in his Cup Series career, enduring a winless streak of 43 races. While poor form has been synonymous with most Ford cars this season, Logano seems to be far off from even his own camp.
Having won the Cup Series twice in his career, the #22 driver is well-versed with the Cup Series demands. While he looked to be handling this tough stage well, his recent comments tend to say otherwise.
Joey Logano gets candid about his on-track struggles after a poor run at Kansas Speedway
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Kansas Speedway has been nothing short of a fortress for Joey Logano. With three wins in 30 races, the Team Penske driver more than fancies racing there. In a rain-delayed race, Logano started P11 and was hoping to turn around his fortunes at one of his favorite tracks. However, he struggled with a lack of rear grip and it all went downhill with a late-race incident.
The #22 driver broke loose off the exit of Turn 4 and slid into the infield. While it brought out a yellow caution, Joey Logano was towed to the pit stall with both his rear tires down. Eventually, he ended up with a P34 finish. Despite having led almost 200 laps this season, Logano hasn’t found the rhythm or control he’s normally very well capable of.
Speaking after the race, he said, “Tough end to the night for our 22 team, for sure. I liked the direction we were going with our balance but we just lacked pace on the longer runs. We got ourselves towards the front there late but, unfortunately, lost all that momentum in one corner and that was it for us.” While this has been the common theme with Logano this season, it looks like even his confidence has taken a dip recently.
Earlier this year, after six races into the campaign, the #22 driver dismissed being in a panic mode because of his downhill runs. However, that stance seems to have changed. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Logano said, “So when you get in a situation like this, you start to hit the panic button a little bit where you are trying a lot of new things.”
😬 “You start to hit the panic button a little bit […] it’s not a great place to be, if I’m being real.”@joeylogano weighs in on the struggles the No. 22 team, @Team_Penske and @FordPerformance are dealing with 12 races into the season.
More → https://t.co/keYsFmuVzu pic.twitter.com/G0cw43hK0C
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) May 9, 2024
Joey Logano further added how mentally challenging his current situation has turned out to be. He said, “You are just swinging your bat at anything you can think of and you are just trying to find a direction because you get a little bit of lost. It’s not a great place to be if I’m being real. It’s a very definitely challenging place to be.”
Definitely, things look a bit concerning for Logano right now. Having said that, if anyone has the mental strength to overcome this, it is the Connecticut-born driver.
During these hard times, Joey Logano derives inspiration from RFK Racing
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It is not just Joey Logano who has struggled in the ongoing season but all Ford cars seem to be in the same boat. After 12 races into the campaign, none of the Ford cars have managed to register a single win yet. While it is surprising with the new Ford Mustang, Logano believes there is still hope as he looked up to RFK Racing for inspiration that he could not find within himself.
In the same conversation with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, he said, “When you look at what the 17 [Chris Buescher] and even the 6 [Brad Keselowski] were able to do this week. As surprising as it is to some, probably not as surprising to me, they seem to be really good at fast, smooth race tracks. That seems to be RFK’s wheelhouse. When you look at ride height pictures and those types of things, they’re different than us, and how they get it to work, we don’t know.”
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It has been 29 races since Ford has won a NASCAR race (Top 3 Series combined)
This is officially the 2nd longest winless streak they have had in NASCAR since 1983, the longest was 42 races, ending in 2010. pic.twitter.com/L0zOtPTcVC
— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) April 30, 2024
While speed has been an issue for Logano and his team, the Team Penske driver remains optimistic about a turnaround. He said, “We try it, and it’s like, it doesn’t work. There’s something they’re doing that’s allowing them to race at a different height and do really, really good at these smooth mile-and-a-half type race tracks, fast tracks which is encouraging because it shows the potential is there if we can just figure it out.”
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With just one top-five and three top-ten finishes this season so far, surely, there’s more to come from Logano. Hopefully, a victory for him could turn out to be a game-changer not just for him and Team Penske but also for Ford.