Joey Logano Backs Team Penske’s Strength Ahead of Gateway in Crucial NASCAR Playoff Push

Team Penske turned the Midwest’s hot oval into their playground last year. It was Austin Cindric who lit the fuse, snapping an 85-race winless streak by stealing the checkered flag after teammate Ryan Blaney ran out of gas just shy of the finish line. And with the victory lane came the coveted spot in the postseason brackets for Cindric. And with Joey Logano pulling through, what fans witnessed that afternoon was a classic case of teamwork, smart cars, and raw horsepower all rolled into one. Fast forward to now, with the Round of 12 looming like a storm on the horizon, Team Penske returns to a track where both history and team dominance say Joey Logano can flip this postseason script.

With the Enjoy Illinois 300 on September 7 at 3:00 PM ET, Logano is dead sure about his chances at Gateway. Speaking on NASCAR Live, he said, “Yeah, it’s been a great racetrack for Team Penske. But also, I think for the sport, on the cool racetrack, they did a good job at bringing the fans there, making it a whole weekend experience for everyone, which has been great. And the track puts on good racing. You know, it’s wide one and two, you can… especially, I mean, it’s from a lane off the wall to the very bottom, and even three and four is pretty wide as well. This one puts on a good racing car.”

The 2024 run wasn’t just Cindric driving the narrator. Earlier in the race, the trio of Penske pilots flexed their muscle with blistering speed. Austin, Blaney, and Joey Logano occupied the top three positions during a stage, showcasing the team’s strategic strength and execution. However, Ryan Blaney heartbreakingly crossed the line in 24th place.

Joey Logano brought home a fifth-place finish, snapping his longest stretch of finishes outside the top 10 under the Penske banner. To top that, in 2023, he started 6th and finished 3rd, and that’s on consistency! The No. 22 Team Penske driver added, “Yeah, Gateway for sure, ’cause it’s pretty smooth. Loudon, maybe not as much, ’cause it’s the way the corners are and how bumpy it is, and it’s banking, it’s angles — it’s kind of a beast of its own. But Gateway for sure has correlations.”

Back in the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 in 2022, Joey Logano lit up Gateway with a performance worthy of the highlight reel. He made his move in overtime, outdueling Kyle Busch with a perfectly timed crossover maneuver to grab the win, edging him out by just 0.655 seconds. That victory marked his 29th career Cup Series win. The finish lineup included Logano, followed by Kyle Busch in second, Kurt Busch in third, with fellow Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola rounding out the top five.

However, this year, after Darlington, Blaney sits comfortably in seventh place, holding a solid +22 point cushion above the cutoff line. Austin Cindric trails behind in ninth with a 12-point cushion. However, Joey Logano finds himself in a precarious position, currently 13th and three points below the cut-off.

Penske’s dominance at Gateway has even urged NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin to choose them over other top-tier teams. But something else looms on Joey Logano’s mind as the playoffs head to the Round of 12.

Joey Logano on his make-or-break playoff chance

Joey Logano rolled into Darlington with a slight cushion above the cut-off line but left licking his wounds after a P20 finish. Suddenly, the math is simple; the next two races are either his lifeline or his downfall. If there is a saving grace, it is Gateway, a track where Logano has been a model of consistency with a 3.0 average finish. Just over the horizon lies Bristol, with stats that are far less forgiving, a grim 27.0 average in five starts.

Looking back at Darlington, he didn’t hide his frustration, but his mindset was all about turning the page. As he sees it, the NASCAR playoff is a fast-moving ship, and any driver still dwelling on yesterday will find themselves left at the dock. He said, “You just have to write that one off as quick as possible, move on, figure out what you have to do at Gateway and keep going because at some point in the playoffs your back will be up against the wall and it will be do-or-die at some point. 100 percent in the playoffs in these 10 weeks you will have that at least one time. If you make it to the Championship 4, your back is up against the wall. You must win.”

For Logano, Gateway is the moment to seize momentum. He has been here before; the underdog has flipped the script and stormed onto the field. He has also tasted defeat when the pressure boiled over. Having lived on both sides, he knows that the ability to thrive in chaos could be the difference between survival and an early playoff exit.