Joey Logano is the only driver from Roger Penske’s NASCAR garage to not win a race in 2024 yet. People would not have been able to see the truth in such a statement not long back. The 2X Cup Series champion has struggled through most of the season and is limping his way to a playoff spot as things stand. How severely or rather, negatively, has this change of fate affected him and his team?
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Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, recently opened up on the mindset that runs through the veins of the #22 Team Penske crew. He said, “Don’t get me wrong. I mean, as the #22 team, we want to win too. But I think Roger has always expressed this over the years. When one team wins, we all win.” What also instills confidence is the part that they’ve played in the outfit’s overall success.
Wolfe noted how they’d supported Ryan Blaney’s victory in Iowa last Sunday and that watching a fellow driver win with their aid makes the entire crew feel right about themselves and the path that they are on. Unfortunately, this feel-good sentiment only goes so far and doesn’t give them any points on the table. Even Austin Cindric has managed to get over the initial Ford fall and find a win.
While Logano or those in his crew might not hold any detrimental feelings towards the other drivers, they are in a corner to perform well. Just nine races remain in the regular season and their team sits six points below the playoff cutoff line. A victory from a new driver could hurt their chances even further. Hopefully, Wolfe will be able to guide his driver to better fortune in New Hampshire this Sunday.
Can Logano and Wolfe combine to collect their first win of the season this Sunday?
The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is an interesting venue for the #22 Team Penske team. What makes it so is not Logano’s recent average finish rate of 10.0 at the track nor the recent momentum that he has found (6th place finish in Iowa) but the driving record of Wolfe. The chief has scored multiple top-10 finishes in the Magic Mile in his time behind the wheel and has a good mastery of it.
With an advantage that few other drivers can boast of having, Logano ought to do his part and grant his team a deserved victory lane visit. Another edge that he will have is the Goodyear tire compound that NASCAR will be using in the upcoming race. It will be the same one as the one used in the Iowa race, making it easier for both the driver and his crew to adjust to the short-track experiments.
