Joey Logano’s Wildcard Teammate Demands More Speed After Winding Up 3 Spots Deep in the Bubble

The second round of the playoff season is poised to turn up the heat! While Team Penske‘s ace up their sleeve, Joey Logano, has already missed the boat in the championship race, their dark horse, No. 12, is still in the running. It’s now up to Joey to light a fire under his teammate and push him to the finish line.

Although the last dance at Bristol wasn’t a feather in Roger Penske‘s cap, at least one of his drivers managed to steer clear of trouble and seal his place in the round of 12. However, there seems to be a bee in his bonnet, echoing the sentiments voiced by the team’s former Cup champion.

#12 is worried about one aspect that might limit him in the playoffs

Joey Logano, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champ, saw his playoff dreams go up in smoke after a tango with Corey LaJoie‘s slip and slide from 12th position. In a no-holds-barred chat with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, the No. 22 Ford Mustang driver opined that if drivers aren’t quick on their feet, they’re skating on thin ice, risking collisions, or, in the worst case, kissing the race goodbye. The 33-year-old didn’t pull any punches discussing the snail’s pace of Ford vehicles, pointing fingers squarely at Team Penske’s Achilles’ heel: speed.

Logano, with his ear to the ground, lamented Team Penske’s leisurely playoff races. He felt a faster chariot might’ve saved him from the crash that nixed his playoff ambitions. The same tune was sung by Team Penske’s wild card, Ryan Blaney.

As per teampenske.com, reflecting on his ticket to the round of 12, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driver mused, “That’s what we did—survived and advanced. It was not a pretty night by any means, but we ran all the laps and did what we needed to do. You’d like to have a little bit more speed and just be competitive, and we weren’t tonight, but we get to go on to the next round and reset and start off in Texas to see what we’ve got.”

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Given Team Penske’s drivers’ chorus of concerns, perhaps it’s high time the backroom boffins burn the midnight oil to iron out those kinks hindering their full-throttle performance. It’s even more pressing as Ryan Blaney finds himself perched precariously, sitting 11th on the top-12 roster. With the next one being a landmark race, Dave Blaney’s son would want nothing short of smooth sailing.

Ryan Blaney is gearing up to hit a milestone

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Competing in his 8th full-season NASCAR strut, Ryan Blaney is on the brink of etching his name in the annals of racing history. When the rubber meets the road this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, the man behind the wheel of the No. 12 Ford Mustang will be marking a grand triple-century in NASCAR’s premier league.

Kicking off the 2023 Cup season, Team Penske’s No. 12 weathered two stormy collisions but still managed to clinch an eighth-place spot at Daytona’s 65th showdown. In the subsequent dozen races, the 29-year-old has been no slouch, racking up 6 more top-10 finishes, with a duo of near-misses in second place.

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To date, Ryan Blaney has danced on the NASCAR stage 299 times, boasting a trophy cabinet with 8 wins, 9 poles, a whopping 65 top-five finishes, and 126 top-10 finishes. He’s blazed ahead for 3,489 laps, averaging a respectable 15.5 finish position. 

The 2018 Bank of America Roval 400 winner’s 300th curtain call might be one for the books, especially if Team Penske’s brain trust can put the pedal to the metal, addressing that nagging need for speed.