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via Imago

The playoffs are in full motion and there is just too much going on with NASCAR. Although the grid is down to the top 12, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’s anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR just got filed. With so much going on in the sport, it must be hard to focus on the championship, especially when you are where Team Penske stands.

Team Penske’s driver, Ryan Blaney, is the defending champion, and he is pushing hard to win a consecutive title. On the other hand, Joey Logano, the 2018 and 2022 champion, is looking out for his third win. While they have their mind on the races, it’s hard to miss out on a controversy as big as two teams suiting NASCAR. After speaking to Bob Pockrass, Joey Logano talked about the lawsuit and how much it affected him.

Joey Logano’s take on NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit

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Joey Logano is heading into Talladega with his mind set on the goal. He hasn’t had the best luck on the circuit as he finished 27th and 24th in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Looking at that, the fact that he is starting 6th on the grid comes as good news. As Logano prepared himself to get into the car for the race, he was approached by Bob Pockrass, who tried to understand how the anti-trust lawsuit affects other drivers and teams.

Logano spared some time for the interview as he explained, “Man, I know what you know. I know what you’ve told me, and so I can’t say I know any more than that. I know it’s obviously quite a big storyline right now in our sport. Does it affect me? I’m sure, in some way, somehow, someday, it probably will. But at the moment, there’s nothing I can do either way, so I’ve just kind of let it roll and see how the cards fall. I mean, we’ll see what happens.”

When NASCAR approached all 15 teams with the charter agreement, 13 of them signed the deal, but Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing held back. Although other teams have mentioned that they are not happy with the deal, they signed it so they don’t have trouble racing in the upcoming season. Pockrass followed up with another question, asking Logano, “Do you have any confidence, or do you have any concern that either that team could get more leniency or less leniency from officiating? Or is that not something you can worry about?”

However, the fact that Joey Logano has been busy with his own preparations has led to him missing out on details of what is going on with the lawsuit. As to why Logano has not kept in touch with the lawsuit situation, he said, “It doesn’t affect me. You know, like I said, we have a championship we’re trying to win right now. We’re 100% focused on that. I understand this is huge for our sport. No matter what happens, it’s obviously big because we’ve never seen it before. But I’m not close enough to even know what’s going on, or even know the truth behind any of it. Right?”

There aren’t many details about the lawsuit revealed to the public, and as the situation progresses, details will surface. But for now, Logano explained that he doesn’t have time to deal with it as he is in the playoffs and here to win.

How likely is it for a Team Penske driver to win at Talladega?

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So far, all Team Penske drivers have made it into the playoffs and even gotten through round 1. But where they stand before Talladega is a strong contrast among the drivers. Ryan Blaney is safe as he is second in the playoffs standing, but the other two drivers are not in a comfortable position.

Joey Logano is sitting 8th, and if he does not manage to have a good race, there is a good chance he gets eliminated. But the driver who desperately needs Talladega to go well is Austin Cindric, who is 12th in the standings and just 1 wrong move away from losing his chances for the title.

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Talladega has been a challenging track for Logano in the past, but his teammates have done quite well on the circuit. Ryan Blaney won last year’s YellaWood 500 and he came second the year before that. Austin Cindric has yet to win on the circuit, but the last two years have been top-10 finishes, so all he needs to do this year is go out and have a good race.

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Being 12th during the second race of the top 12 is not where a driver wants to be; however, he still has 2 shots left at Talladega and ROVAL to get himself in a more even fighting ground for the playoffs. The drivers do look strong this season and the outcome at Talladega will give us a better picture as to where they stand.

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Considering all of this, do you think that Team Penske can win the championship for 3 years in a row? Share your thoughts in the comments below.