Joey Logano was driving his No. 22 Team Penske Ford like he was sure to win a particularly chaotic race at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday. He won stage one, led 96 laps, the most in the race, and yet all he had to show for it was a third-place finish. 

Although Logano gained 53 points and moved up to seventh, he left St. Louis disappointed after a race that seemed to be going his way. He came in looking for a win and felt he had done everything he could, but it still wasn’t enough, as he admitted in an interview with Frontstretch when asked if he left everything on the track.

“We did. Just bitter at the moment that we didn’t win, that’s all. We did most things right, [the] team did everything right, and I’m not even 100 percent sure how I could have played that restart better. He does a good job, and they beat us,” Logano said.

The three-time Cup Series champion felt the 18 cautions had cost him, as he nailed nearly every restart. He took the lead multiple times, thinking each time that it could be the winning move, only to lose out on the final restart when it mattered most.

“That was the difference [between] winning and losing,” Logano added in the same interview.

Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, brought him in on lap 200 for two tires on their final pit stop. While the driver felt it was the right call, he was surprised to see eventual race winner Kyle Larson and other drivers opt for four tires. He thought that the two-tire strategy would be good,

Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, brought him in on lap 200 for two tires on their final pit stop. While the driver felt it was the right call, he was surprised to see eventual race winner Kyle Larson and other drivers opt for four tires. He believed the two-tire strategy would work, especially with the way the race had been playing out, but the frequent cautions ultimately allowed those on four tires to make up the difference.

Logano, who won the inaugural race here in 2022, knows St. Louis was a track where he and his Ford Mustang were well suited for a win. However, he also knows he was fortunate to make it to the end, with multiple drivers suffering DNFs because of overheated rotors that led to brake issues.

Those problems arose from cars running for long periods under caution during a hot afternoon race or in dirty air, which limited the amount of cool air reaching the rotors. Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Noah Gragson, Zane Smith, and Chris Buescher all ended up with DNFs due to the same brake-rotor issue.

“The rotors blowing up,” said Logano when asked what he thought caused all the chaos. “It was just on edge, and everyone’s trying to figure out how to get their cars into their corner. They all seem to pop at the same time, though, didn’t they? Is that what most of them were at the end? Just Rotors, right? Yeah, long straightaway, they cool a lot, and then you have a huge braking moment that spikes the heat that cracks them. Probably what happened. I kind of thought that would happen, but then it didn’t seem like it was happening. It was like. Okay. I guess everyone’s brakes are fine, and then they all went at the same time. Wild.”

Despite all the chaos and criticisms, Logano still believes that World Wide Technology Raceway should remain on the Chase calendar for seasons to come. Logano felt it was a good race overall and felt the track deserves to remain on the schedule despite the record cautions. That said, third place may not be the worst thing for Logano.

A few months back, no one would have expected him to be in the Chase at all. He had dropped to 20th in the standings after a 24th-place finish at Sonoma and even called his car a “piece of junk” at Darlington in the spring race. But wins at North Wilkesboro and Iowa have given Logano the boost he needed to rediscover his championship pedigree and put it to good use.

The Chase has begun decently for Logano, with a 9th-place finish at Darlington and a third-place finish in St. Louis. Logano started the Chase as the 9th seed, 65 points back from championship leader Denny Hamlin. Now he’s 7th with 51 points gap to make up.

Logano has made up 14 points in the last two races. If he can maintain that pace, he could be within touching distance of Hamlin by Homestead. The plan, however, will be to avoid another St. Louis-like result and win a race to climb further up the standings before then.