Phoenix Raceway has long been Joey Logano’s happy hunting ground, a track where the Team Penske star knows how to make himself a championship threat. And this time, the No. 22 looked ready to do it again, sweeping both stages and putting himself in position to fight for the win. But a costly pit-road mistake disrupted his momentum when it mattered most. With Logano sitting 44 points out and needing every opportunity he can get, Kevin Harvick has raised a concern that could spell trouble for Penske’s championship ambitions.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“I really thought Logano was in a position to win the race. And they had a bad pit stop. The one thing that makes me nervous is, I mean, I know that Ryan Blaney’s team was technically top whatever pit crew for the Chase so far, but I think you saw who they really were this weekend. Logano had the same issue. I think that their mistakes come at the wrong times on pit road. I think both of those cars were capable of winning, and both of them had pit stops go bad at the wrong time.”
Kevin Harvick’s criticism of Team Penske carries extra weight because neither Joey Logano nor Ryan Blaney lacked the speed to win at Phoenix Raceway. Logano swept both stages, while Blaney started from pole and controlled the opening stint. Yet their championship ambitions took a hit when pit-road service cost them valuable track position.
Blaney encountered trouble first. After leading the opening 44 laps, the No. 12 Ford headed to pit road under the caution triggered by Michael McDowell’s crash involving Riley Herbst. The four-tire stop took 11.2 seconds, dropping Blaney from the lead to eighth for the restart. Instead of retaining control after a strong opening run, he suddenly had several cars to pass just to return to the front.
The setback did not end Blaney’s afternoon, but it complicated it. He worked his way back into contention and eventually finished second, showing that the No. 12 had the pace to challenge for the win. However, another slow service during the Stage 2 break dropped him to 15th, forcing him to recover track position again.
Logano’s costly moment arrived later, when the No. 22 appeared poised to turn its speed into a victory. He led 84 laps and won both stages, putting himself in an excellent position to capitalize on the race’s final stages. But a caution following Cody Ware’s crash with 90 laps remaining brought the leaders to pit road, and Logano’s stop lasted 11.8 seconds. He dropped from first to fifth, with Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell among those moving ahead of him.
Logano ultimately finished sixth, a respectable result that nevertheless left him wondering what could have been. The slow stop transformed a potential race-winning afternoon into another recovery effort. Logano did not hide his frustration afterward.
“The pit crew had a smoking day going, but just that one hiccup and that’s all it takes these days. You have to be absolutely perfect. That’s all,” he said.
His comments echo Harvick’s point. A crew can perform well for most of a race, but one mistake during a pivotal stop can undo the work of the driver and the rest of the team. And for Penske, this is not the first time pit-road execution has threatened to overshadow its on-track performance.
Blaney’s crew has been under scrutiny since the spring. At the March Phoenix race, loose-wheel problems forced him to return to pit road twice and sent him deep into the running order. He still recovered to win, but the comeback risked being unnecessary. By April, the numbers had become more troubling: his crew had cost the No. 12 a reported 88 positions on pit road over the first eight races.
Penske responded with personnel changes, including replacing Blaney’s jackman and later swapping the pit crews assigned to the No. 12 and Austin Cindric’s No. 2 before the Chase. The reshuffle was intended to give Blaney a stronger operation for the championship run. However, Blaney made clear that the decision was not his.
“I did not ask for a change. That came from above me,” he said, explaining that the call came from team leadership.
That context makes the October Phoenix race particularly frustrating. Penske had already recognized the need to improve, yet Blaney again lost ground during service, and Logano suffered a costly stop of his own.
The timing is especially difficult for Logano. After Phoenix, he sat sixth in the Chase standings, 44 points behind the leader, with Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami remaining. Talladega offers an opportunity for a superspeedway ace like Logano to make up ground, while his past success at Martinsville and Homestead gives him reason to remain optimistic. But he cannot afford to keep surrendering track position before the racing even resumes.
If Team Penske has one issue to prioritize, it is pit-road execution.