We wait with bated breath for the second-last race of the season. For Martinsville Speedway will trim the Cup Series field from eight to the Final Four. So speculation is wild about who all are in contention to win the Xfinity 400 race. In Joey Logano’s opinion, however, our expectations may be turned upside down. Although a few veteran names are associated with Paperclip victories, their times have faded.

All the playoff drivers except for Tyler Reddick hold previous victories at the 0.526-mile short track. However, there are variations, especially with the Next-Gen car drawing a line. On top of that, NASCAR is implementing its softer compound of tires, which were a hit at the spring Bristol race, this weekend. So Joey Logano is apprehensive about a diverse scenario.

Wildcard result on Joey Logano’s cards

Statistically, Denny Hamlin should have the greatest advantage going into Martinsville. He leads the playoff pack with five triumphs – but his last victory at the track came in 2015. Similarly, other veterans in the garage have also been winless for some time. Kyle Busch has gone through his worst Cup Series season, and the last time he fetched a grandfather clock was back in 2017. Jimmie Johnson holds a whopping 9 victories at the Paperclip – but as we all saw, the 7-time champion has not finished better than 28th in his part-time venture. So Joey Logano feels this Martinsville story will be unexpected.

After the Next-Gen car debuted in 2022, the aerodynamic changes affected short-track racing. So in a recent pre-race presser at Martinsville Speedway, Joey Logano harped on the changed scenario due to this car. “It seems like the field’s getting closer than it used to be. There used to be a point of time when there’s Jimmie, Jeff, Denny – every time. Then Kyle Busch got in the middle of that for a little bit. And then the Next-gen car switched some of that up to where like, those guys just understood where Martinsville was. And that’s why they won so many races.”

Several possible options arise in Martinsville. Chevrolet boasts a strong trend of four wins here in the last six races. Then Chase Briscoe, having only two races left to wave the Stewart-Haas Racing banner, has scored five consecutive top-10 finishes at the track. Considering such circumstances, Joey Logano is willing to bet on several potential winners. “It seems like the gap has closed up a lot – which is just competition, right? You can only retain an advantage for so long. Now there’s probably still a handful of drivers that I can name off that will be strong. But you can sprinkle in a few others that will be right there, for sure.” 

While Joey Logano focuses on his competitors, his crew chief is attending to NASCAR’s experiment.

Tires clouding Martinsville strategy

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The wrinkle to the most pivotal moment in the playoffs is Goodyear’s softer tire debut at the Paperclip. Teams will use the ‘option tire’ as the right-side standard, as used in North Wilkesboro and Richmond. On the left side, officials indicated that new rubber billed as the “softest” in its portfolio will be the tire of choice.

Although teams received extra practice time for the new tires, challenges arose. The variables of wear and enhanced short-term grip could alter the race’s strategy. Then a gamble for four fresh tires might offset the loss in track position. These possibilities are rife in the No. 22 crew chief, Paul Wolfe‘s mind.

Joey Logano hopes to win Martinsville, as he claimed: “If we get a fast car, we can go win the race…like why not?” So Wolfe is preparing accordingly, as he is taking a cautious approach towards Goodyear’s tires. “It’s a new tire again this time around, so there’s a lot of unknowns. You look at who was successful there in the spring, the Hendrick (Motorsports) cars were very good, but track conditions will likely be different, and the tire will be different as well. So it’s about the teams that can adapt to that will be the ones on top. I think there’s a lot of opportunity for strategy to mix things up and that’s the part that makes it tough, right? You can have the best car, you can have a top-five car, but all it’s going to take is one caution at the wrong time for you, and it’s going to flip things up and make it really interesting.”

Evidently, Joey Logano will have a lot to contend with if he seeks a double win in the Round of 8. Let us see who tames the Paperclip this Sunday.