Kevin Harvick Warns Kyle Larson & Co. Against Downplaying ‘Bulldog’ Joey Logano’s Championship Caliber

Joey Logano is a tough nut to crack on the tracks. The 2024 season saw him mark a victory in three races as of now. On Sunday, Logano crossed the track 0.662 seconds earlier than Christopher Bell and secured his spot in the Final 4. If he can maintain his track record and win at Phoenix, he will be the 10th driver in history to make this win. While Logano has secured his position, we have Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and William Byron just above the cut line. Logano holds immense caliber, which could easily help him win the championship.

Ahead of the Homestead Miami race, Kevin Harvick has now issued a guide to Kyle Larson to look out for Joey Logano. Given that Logano has now adopted an aggressive driving style, as he is eyeing his third cup championship, this easily makes up for any faults with the car, and it seems as though even years stand lucky for him. He has consistently made it to the top four each of the four years since his debut in the world of NASCAR.

Chances of Kyle Larson scaling up to Championship 4 this weekend

Speaking of Larson and the possibility of him winning the Homestead race to speed up to Championship 4, the HMS driver only has one win out of his 10 appearances on the track. During the 2023 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in the 213th lap of the 267-lap race, Larson, in second place, was aggressively chasing pack leader and the defending champion, Ryan Blaney, when they headed for pit road. Blaney’s entry was smooth in his No. 12 Ford Mustang, but the No. 5 Chevy struggled to ease off the gas. This caused his car to veer through the initial entry barrier, sending sand and debris into the air. If Larson hadn’t made a quick evasive maneuver, it could have resulted in a disastrous collision with Blaney. That was a race Larson could’ve easily won, but he ended the race in P34.

Kyle Larson, post-race in Miami, had said, “I just gotta learn from little mistakes. Little mistakes just kind of compound throughout your whole race, and then you end up in the [NASCAR] care center because of it.” Hopefully, he has learned it, as another Penske driver is already eyeing the championship this season.

Recounting his impact on the track, Harvick, on episode 67 of ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,’ mentioned, “You want to race against the guys you think you can beat. And I think from a speed standpoint, I think they probably, if you were the 5 or the 24, 20 you feel like you can probably outspeed the if you don’t screw it all up because those guys aren’t going to make as many mistakes as the other guys it seems at this point.”

Further warning the rest of the playoff contenders, Harvick added, “He’s going to be aggressive. He’s going to do what he has to do, but he’s got the experience, and he knows how to make it difficult on you. If you give Joey Logano the lead on Phoenix, he’s going to be extremely difficult to pass when you are racing him, not only for a win but for a championship. And those guys are just bulldogs, and Logano has learned to take that really aggressive style of racing and be defensive with it.”

It goes without saying that when the championship is the main focus, battling it out in an aggressive style is what most drivers choose to opt in for. This comes after Joey Logano overtook Suarez at the Las Vegas Speedway in the 261st lap and led the rest of the laps.

Logano’s experience at Phoenix Speedway will be invaluable as he competes for a top-four finish. Known for his aggressive driving, Logano made headlines during the 2018 Championship campaign with his bold bump-and-run maneuver against Martin Truex Jr.  This winning strategy carried him through that season and reemerged in the 2022 Championship, where he dominated by leading 188 of 312 laps, leaving no room for competitors.

If Kyle Larson underestimates Logano’s fierce style, it could cost him dearly in the title race. Logano’s proven track record of going all out when it counts makes him a formidable opponent this time around. Even his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, has shown great belief in him going for the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. As he said, We’ve had a strong short-track program this year… I know we can go there and win.”

Kyle Larson, crew chief, acknowledged Joey Logano’s fuel strategy

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If you think that it is only aggression that drives Joey Logano, then you might not be on the right track. With a very effective crew team, the No. 22 driver has been able to make a mark with his impeccable fuel strategy.

Cheering his team and their strategy at the SouthPoint 400, the Team Penske driver said, “Very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’re going to the Championship 4 again. It’s real. Great fuel mileage, great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she’s full, giving me the info to keep the lead that we needed to. We’re going racing again. What an incredible situation, man. I’m so blessed.. Just an incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotters. It takes all of us to do it. Total team wins. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and were able to maximize it at the end.”

Instead of opting in for a pit stop, Logano stretched his fuel. Although it was a gamble, this strategy outperformed, and he was able to make it to the win. Acknowledging the strategy adopted by Logano and his crew, Cliff Daniels mentioned, “I guess, never doubt Joey Logano and Paul Wolfe when it comes to fuel mileage races. They’re so good at it and obviously, they made it work today. On the contrary, Larson had a major pit crew showdown that forced him to take double pit stops. This further pushed time and Larson did not make it to the victory seat.”

With the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in view, Team Penkse once again has given big guns like Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs another championship threat. It’ll be interesting to see if the team once again wins the season.