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Despite 37-Race Winless Streak, Joey Logano Dismisses ‘Panic Mode’ Talks With Confidence

Published 03/28/2024, 9:36 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Joey Logano isn’t having the best start to his NASCAR Cup Series season so far. After the race at COTA, he is winless for a total of 37 races, which amounts to a whole Cup Series season. It’s not that he hasn’t shown speed with the new Ford Mustang, but he just hasn’t been able to churn out the results during the races. Despite the alarming signs, the Team Penske driver believes that he has a long way to go into the season and can turn the tides in his favor.

Joey Logano believes he still has enough time to make a comeback

In the 2023 season, Joey Logano was one of the top drivers who was always in contention to win races. While he only managed a single win in Atlanta, he had a consistent performance with a total of 11 top-five finishes and 17 top-10 finishes. But it seems that he just hasn’t been able to fire off his engine in a similar fashion this season. The #9 finish at Vegas is the only decent result he has managed so far in the season, which is bleak considering he is considered one of the contenders for the title.

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Logano is aware of the fact that he needs to get back to winning ways. However, he is not pressing the panic button yet, given that he has multiple opportunities to find that vital breakthrough. Speaking via Racer, he shared, “I’m not in panic mode. I’m concerned, obviously, by where we’re at but I’m not in panic mode. Everything usually averages out. We’re still 20 races or so from the playoffs starting. We have time to get ourselves back up there.

He even acknowledged that the team has yet to unlock the potential of the new Ford car, a process that usually takes time. “It’s never a quick turnaround, but the first thing we have to do is pinpoint exactly where we are off in what areas. Not saying engine or downforce, what areas and be very specific in what areas we need to work on so we can focus on those things, and it then takes time to develop and apply those developments to the race car.

In a desperate search for a win, Logano will now be looking towards Richmond, a venue that has served him well during his recent visit.

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Richmond could allow him back into the title contenders this season

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The driver of the No. 22 Penske car has three straight top-10 finishes at the Richmond Raceway. He has emerged victorious at the racetrack twice, but it was well before the NextGen era. Also, he did have a good outing on the road course race at Circuit of the Americas but missed the top 10 finish by a single position.

Expressing his optimism for a turnaround at Richmond, Logano added, “We’re going to Richmond this weekend that is one of my favourite racetracks, one of our best racetracks, maybe our best racetrack as the 22 team. So I look forward to having a solid run there, scoring some stage points, putting ourselves in position to win. That’ll be key. I feel more confident at Richmond than I have at really any other track this year, so hopefully we can have a solid run.”

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Toyota Owners 400 Gets $300,000 Richer as NASCAR Swells Richmond Purse

While Logano is trying to downplay the cause of concern here, the reality doesn’t change. After six Cup Series races, he is placed 22nd in the driver’s standings and can stumble down the pecking order if he doesn’t find a win soon.

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Written by:

Chintan Devgania

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Chintan Mahesh Devgania is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As someone who likes to dive deep into the sport, he often takes up less explored topics to eventually see them make their way into top stories. His report on Toyota’s young recruit, Jade Avedisian, sharing her thoughts on Late Model Racing, was an example of that.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta