Despite Playoff History, Kyle Petty Believes Joey Logano May Struggle to Make a Run in the Postseason This Year

Joey Logano and Team Penske have built a reputation for positioning themselves perfectly when the playoffs roll around. Yet this year, Kyle Petty offered a blunt take on Logano’s prospects. Over the past three seasons, Penske drivers have looked sluggish in the regular season but roared to life in the postseason, the formula that carried Logano to titles in 2022 and 2024, and Ryan Blaney in 2023.

By the close of last year’s regular season, Logano had logged four top-fives and eight top-10s but bagged three wins in the playoffs to win the Cup Championship. This season, he sits with three top-fives and seven top-10s, and Petty argues he hasn’t shown the same speed. Blaney, meanwhile, has turned heads with nine top-fives and 13 top-10s, showing the gap between Penske’s two stars.

On Go PRN Live, Petty didn’t mince words when talking about the anticipated rest of the season of Logano, saying, “We know that the #12 car, Ryan Blaney, has speed. It has speed week in and week out. I’ve just not seen speed from Joey.

“That is the one thing that concerns me about the #22 car. And the inconsistency of (Austin) Cindric when you look at him, but when you look at the #22 car of Joey Logano, they’ve just not.”

“They’ve been 28th, 29th-place cars. When they’ve been in competition and able to run up front, they’ve not had enough to get the W. They’ve had enough to finish second, enough to finish in the top five, but not enough to get it. So, it doesn’t feel that way this year like it, like maybe it has in the past.”

Still, Team Penske remains the only team with all of its drivers locked into the playoffs, each with a win in hand. And if history is any guide, the group may yet flip the switch in the final 10-race stretch. For now, Logano, Blaney, and Austin Cindric turn their attention to the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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