Team Penske has been a curious case since the beginning of the 2025 Cup Series season. After Sunday’s race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, nobody has led more laps than its three drivers. Joey Logano (247 laps led), Austin Cindric (159 laps led), and Ryan Blaney (147 laps led) lead the charts by a good margin. But this dominance hasn’t translated to results.
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Logano’s average finish is a lowly 18.8, and he is still looking for his first top-10 finish. Also, he is 11th in the driver standings. These numbers are concerning for a driver who just won his third Cup Series championship in 2024. However, fans on social media take confidence from the fact that nobody has led more laps than him so far this year.
One fan on X said, “For the Logano haters. He still has great talent and is not washed! Just has bad luck so far this year.” Calling what he is experiencing bad luck would be an understatement.
He has left nearly every track after suffering some disappointment outside of his control. Had the winds blown in his favor slightly, he might as well be leading the standings.
Laps led in 2025 (through 6 races) pic.twitter.com/NBl0z08Z4M
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) March 25, 2025
One comment read, “Most laps led in the whole series, 0 top tens. Basically, the opposite of his 2024 season.” The 2024 season was one in which he was deemed to have a ton of luck with him.
Perhaps the universe is balancing itself by not giving him any this year. Another fan said, “Lagono has led the most laps, but pit problems have prevented him from closing the deal.”
One more followed, “Penske dominating on the road, but not on the finish line is crazy.” This trend is not limited to Logano. Blaney has been suffering a largely similar fate in the No. 12 Ford Mustang as well.
Blaney is in a similar corner to Logano
Blaney has been the fastest driver on the field throughout this season. He has secured 66 stage points by being so, but he lacks sorely when it comes to executing finishes. The result of the same is that he has just one top-5 in six races. In the recent race at Homestead-Miami, for instance, he suffered an engine failure with 60 laps left in the race.
He said after the race, “I appreciate the 12 guys for just giving me a hot rod. It was an incredibly, incredibly fast race car today. We’ll keep our heads up. It’s just one of those things where it’s not really going our way right now, but the good news is we’re bringing fast cars and that’s all you can ask for.” He currently sits 10th in the points table, heading to Martinsville.
Team Penske’s third driver, Austin Cindric, is 21st on the points table despite carrying good results. Notably, he was hit with a 50-point penalty in COTA. Hopes are that better times are ahead for this trio.
