Team Penske is undoubtedly the most dominant team in the next-gen era. Three years, three back-to-back titles. Joey Logano won in 2022, and 2024 and Ryan Blaney won it in 2023. Even if the team has fast cars, they seem to struggle when it comes to superspeedways. Heading into the Daytona 500, Penske was a front-runner, but they came empty-handed. The next race was also a  Superspeedway one. But the team again came short at Atlanta Motor Speedway. So, is there a pattern here?

Well, since they have been so dominant overall, the pattern is noticeable. For some reason, the Mustang is not able to shine in races on the drafting tracks. Also, some recent data has shown that Team Penske is the most consistent team when it comes to these tracks. But still, they aren’t winning any races!

Is it a Penske problem or is it a Ford problem?

At the Daytona 500, Austin Cindric started the race in P2 and Joey Logano was P10. And for the major part of the race, Team Penske looked dominant. Joey Logano had some car troubles, but Cindric stayed up front and Ryan Blaney quickly climbed positions. Blaney even went on to win Stage 2. And on the last few laps of the races, it was looking like a good day for the Penke drivers. Cindric leading, Blaney in fourth, and Logano in 5th. But Logano tried to punch a hole by nudging Ricky Stenhouse Jr and he went into Blaney. They were pushed to the back of the field.

But there was still hope. Austin Cindric was leading on the final lap before Cole Custer tried to make it three wide wrecking Denny Hamlin and Cindric. Eventually, William Byron, who was running 9th then took the checkered flag. And it was the same story in Atlanta. Team Penske had the speed but just could not finish the job. All three started in the top 5. Blaney leading, Cindric in P2, and Logano in P4. But the finishes? Blaney ended in P4, Logano in P12 and Cindric wrecked out of the race.

And there seems to be a Ford problem here too. After the qualifying, nine cars out of the top 10 were all Fords at Atlanta. But by the end of the race…it was only  Blaney’s car that made it to the top 10. Maybe it has something to do with the long-term speed of the Mustang. Because the car is fast and Ford drivers are the ones leading the most laps on Superspeedways. With Team Penske is leading them. But the finishes seem to be a problem.

Look a this data: 4,266 laps have been run at drafting tracks in the Next Gen era: and 1,206 of them (28.27%!!) have been led by Team Penske. Joey Logano alone has led 12.5%. Cindric led at around 9% and Blaney was at 7%. And 50% of the drivers in this group are all with Ford. Michael McDowell is with Chevy now (Spire Motorsports) but until last season he too was running a Ford (Front Row Motorsports).

So maybe there is some problem with the Mustang. More races and more finishes would reveal the bigger picture. And here’s what the Penske drivers had to say after leading most laps of the series so far.

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Penske Drivers after the Atlanta race

So far in all the Cup races, 467 laps have been run out of which the three Penske drivers have led 334. That’s almost 72% of all the laps. But they haven’t won a single race. Even Cindric admitted that Ford was the fastest car in Atlanta but was left disappointed with the results, he said, “It was unfortunate. As a team, as Fords, we had the best cars here this weekend. We put ourselves into position to win the race and got used up and into the fence and didn’t win the race. It’s a shame. Two weeks in a row, I feel like we have had the car to beat and haven’t done it. One way or another it is disappointing.”

And Logano kind of echoed Cindric’s point. Even he felt that it was tough to get back up in the later part of the race. “It was just challenging all day. We had a really fast car, and when we were up front we could control it really well. When we had a couple Fords up front it was domination, and then when I got in the back I didn’t handle good enough. It just cost us too much back there and I couldn’t move my way back up. Every time I got a gap it just wasn’t good enough to get back up there handling-wise, so the car was fast but we just needed more steering.

Finally, Blaney saved the day for both Penske and Ford. He was the only one who made a comeback after getting spun. But even the stage 2 winner thought it was tough to get back in front once he dropped back, “It was a little bit of a struggle getting to the front after I lost some track position in the first and second stage, and then we got spun when I finally got track position by (Hocevar), and we were able to make it back up and run forward, so it was an up and down day, that’s for sure. I’m happy we were able to make a recovery.” 

Let’s hope whatever is the problem they fix it before the next Superspeedway race. What do you think is the issue? Why is Team Penske not winning at Superspeedways? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.