Team Penske donned a formidable look for the Round of 8 playoff opener. After the Toyotas dominated the Round of 16, the Ford drivers of Penske made a spectacle in the Round of 12. Ryan Blaney won the New Hampshire race, while Joey Logano dramatically ousted Ross Chastain to clinch the final playoff spot at the Charlotte Roval. What is more, Logano is the defending winner at Las Vegas, a track where Penske racers are renowned.

However, things did not go according to Roger Penske’s plan. Penske’s rivals – Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs – were in equally hot forms in Las Vegas. Although a collaboration between OEMs is not a possibility, an unexpected move saw Hendrick’s driver favoring one rival OEM over another.

Joey Logano boils down to the turning point

Well, the South Point 400 focused a lot of the spotlight on Joey Logano. The No. 22 Ford driver started from the 9th position. However, Logano’s four victories, 8 top fives, and 16 top tens made fans believe that the Team Penske driver would be a formidable presence. Remember the 2024 playoffs? Alex Bowman’s shock disqualification at the Roval vaulted Logano back into the playoffs, and then the latter won in Vegas en route to his third title. This time, however, Bowman did not make things easy for Penske’s champion.

After lingering around P9 and slipping into the top 15 in the first two stages, Joey Logano gained ground in the final stage. Within the final 20 laps, he climbed into the top five, running for some time. However, Alex Bowman made a decision with his lapped car, choosing to push a Toyota car. So Logano took shots at Rick Hendrick’s driver in the post-race interview: “(Alex Bowman) had an option of going three-wide or push (Briscoe). Dang it, he pushed (Briscoe). Kind of shoved him ahead to get distance into the corner and three and clear me. Put us in a bad spot.” 

Joey Logano had an average day, which was not expected from the defending South Point 400 winner. Besides blaming Alex Bowman’s moves, Logano observed some internal trouble as well: “We were good on the long haul, couldn’t quite get to cleaner air towards the front because our restarts weren’t good up in. At the start of the third stage, we lost balance on the car, got way loose, lost all our track position. Paul (Wolfe) made a great call again to put two on it, put us on the front row.” 

Overall, the three-time Cup Series champion focused on the ultimate goal, a fourth title. All that matters to Joey Logano now is surviving until the Championship 4 round. He said, “Overall, a good battle, but not good enough. … I think it’s pretty clear what we got to do looking at the points. I mean, one spot’s already taken up. I think we’re 24 out. Yeah, it’s possible. You have to be pretty special the next two weeks without winning the race.” 

Meanwhile, Joey Logano’s teammate was in dire straits. After rocking the previous round, dark clouds are indeed hovering over Team Penske.

An unforeseen disaster

Like Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney heralded high hopes for Team Penske. The No. 12 Ford driver had clinched 6 top fives and 10 top tens earlier in Las Vegas. Moreover, he entered the race with 19 points above the cutline. However, disaster unfolded for the 2023 Cup Series champion on lap 72, shortly after the first stage. The left front tire of his No. 12 Ford blew up in Turn 3, sending his car into the wall. This marked Blaney’s eighth DNF of the 2025 season, but his first during the playoffs. The last time he failed to finish a race was at Sonoma Raceway in mid-July. “Nope, no warning,” Blaney said after the wreck.

Yet the good news for Joey Logano’s teammate is on the next tracks. Blaney has multiple wins at both Talladega Superspeedway (three) and Martinsville Speedway (two). So he said, “Maybe we can look forward to those — obviously, we have to look forward to them. Not the spot you want to be in. We actually got our car feeling decent there. Was looking forward to keep going, but never got it, so yeah, it’s pretty simple. We got to win one of the next two weeks. Hopefully, we can rebound and do it.”

Clearly, Team Penske needs to step up to continue excelling in their championship push. Let’s wait and see what they can accomplish in the following weeks.