After securing his spot in the Championship 4 with a victory at Las Vegas, Joey Logano can take a breather, but his teammate, Ryan Blaney, is teetering on the edge in the Round of 8, trailing by 47 points. It’s only natural that the team might expect Logano to assist Blaney in the upcoming races at Homestead and Martinsville.
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Recently, the #22 driver discussed his camaraderie with Blaney. According to Christopher Bell, during the final laps at Las Vegas, Blaney played a crucial role in Logano’s win by blocking Bell, helping Logano maintain his lead. When asked if he would reciprocate the favor for his teammate, Logano responded:
“Yes, within reason of what we can do. If there is anything that they want to try in practice or set up-wise or anything like that, we are open to it. What do you guys need to make sure you have the fastest 12 Ford Mustang out there? What can we do to help you from that perspective? So we’ll do what we can to be good teammates, for sure.”
While discussing his relationship with Blaney, given their seven-year tenure as teammates at Team Penske, the #22 Ford driver opened up about how closely the two teams collaborate, particularly on performance setups lately.
Logano elaborated, “I think Blaney and I work really well together off the racetrack and on the racetrack. And that relationship has only grown even more so after his championship, which I think is great. And it seems like we’ve been able to really be open with each other.”
How did Blaney’s championship win last year enhance his relationship with Logano?
Typically, teams that haven’t secured a win might hold their strategies close to the chest, and it appears Blaney and Logano were no exception. However, following the #12 team’s championship victory, there seems to have been a positive shift in their dynamic. When asked how the championship win influenced their relationship, Logano shared:
“I don’t know exactly why… He’s got a championship now and now it’s not necessarily as much of a competition to where we both want to see Team Penske succeed.”
“I feel like we’re more looking at it from the same lens than we used to. I don’t know if it’s because of the championship or is it that we’re both growing up. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it does seem like it does seem to help.”
With an average finish of 16.8 at Homestead across nine starts and an impressive average of 8.8 in 17 starts at Martinsville, Blaney would undoubtedly benefit from any support Logano can provide in the remaining two Round of 8 races.
