Fate has dealt Joey Logano a cruel hand in each of the last six weekends since the 2025 Cup Series season began. For one reason or another, his finishing positions haven’t been able to match his superior performances, and he hasn’t breached the top-10 mark a single time yet. This could change on the 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway this weekend.
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He has finished inside the top 10 in the last 11 races at the short track. This is one of the longest top-10 streaks a driver has managed to pull off there. David Pearson and Dale Earnhardt each had a similar streak of 11 consecutive top-10 finishes at Martinsville. Pearson won a single race, and Earnhardt won six. Logano has one victory so far.
Jeff Gordon and Lee Petty have one-upped this trio with longer streaks. Gordon finished 12 races inside the top 10 from 1995 to 2000. He then created another streak of 15 races from 2003 to 2010.
Petty went on a streak of 14 races from 1949 to 1956. Jimmie Johnson sits atop this list with 17 consecutive top-10 finishes from 2002 to 2010. He won nine times.
Sitting amongst such elite names, Logano has a real chance to break the curse that has been haunting him this year. What’s the point of leading all those laps if victory lane remains out of reach?
The background with which Logano arrives at Martinsville
The Team Penske driver has always been spectacular when it comes to qualifying at the Martinsville Speedway. His average starting position at the facility is 8.4 and is only second to his average at Las Vegas (7.7). He also has six poles and an active streak of 18 top-10 starts. Three of his poles were consecutive ones between 2015 and 2016.
Logano has raced 32 times at Martinsville. His average finishing position is 10.8, and he has been running at the finish of each of the 32 races. These facts and numbers spell a lot of confidence.
With Goodyear’s tire improvements in recent years, Logano could end up performing better than he ever has. The words of his teammate, Ryan Blaney, provide backing for that.
He said about the track and tire dynamics, “I think we can continue to be aggressive on it because that’s the place to be the most aggressive with tires. It’s the slowest racetrack, and you don’t have to worry about massive blowouts at high speeds, so I think Goodyear has continued to work their way softer, which is a good thing.”
Blaney is in a similar spot to Logano as well. He doesn’t have many impressive results despite being the fastest driver on the track so far. He is also the one with the most stage points after six races. Hopefully, Martinsville will be a turning point for Team Penske.
