January continues to crawl by slowly as the anticipation for NASCAR to return builds. Today marks 29Â Days to Daytona left in the slow trickle to Daytona Speedweeks. The #22 Team Penske had a disappointing campaign defending their title. Despite their teammate winning the championship, Joey Logano and his team were part of the sluggish Team Penske storyline all year.
#22 Team Penske
Driver: Joey Logano
Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe
Sponsors: Pennzoil/Shell, AAA, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Autotrader
2024 Season Preview
Will the Luck Continue?
Joey Logano’s 2023 was a year filled with a surprising lack of speed at a variety of tracks. It was not unusual to see Logano run outside the Top-10. However, Logano still managed to pick up 11 Top-5s on the season. How did this happen if the 22 team lacked top speed? Well, Logano and company had a golden horseshoe hidden away somewhere. Most of those Top-5s came down to cautions falling their way during green flag pit cycles. Logano would jump up the leaderboard into the Top-5 despite running 15th all race long. While credit has to be given to Logano for maintaining that position, it is not a great sign that their Top-5 total was more so due to luck rather than speed.
Continue the Season-Win Streak
Currently, Joey Logano has won at least one race in each of the past 12 seasons. In 5 of those seasons, it was a single win that started/continued the streak. Last year, Logano’s lone win came at Atlanta as he passed former teammate Brad Keselowski on the last lap. Although usually you can pencil in a Logano win each season, last year’s performance might bring into question whether the streak will continue. Logano only looked like a race-winning threat on the superspeedways. While a win there could be predicted, it is difficult to expect that as the “for sure” win.
Losing His Shine
While it might be ridiculous to ask if a former 2-time champion is a top tiered driver, but Joey Logano’s recent trends look worrisome. Since his 2018 championship, Logano’s average finish has steadily increased each season. Last year’s average of 14.9 was his highest since 2017. Even in his 2022 championship season, that was not a season where Logano dominated from beginning to end. Much like Ryan Blaney’s 2023, Logano got hot at the right time. While there is no arguing that Logano is a great driver, does he still feel like weekly race winning threat? Would you put him in the same category as Kyle Larson or Denny Hamlin? Recently, that answer feels like a no.
Daytona 500 Chances
Joey Logano has become a Daytona 500 ace in the recent past. After winning the 500 in 2015, Logano has gone on to finish inside the Top-5 3 times. When he is not finishing inside the Top-5, he usually is wrecking while battling for the lead in the closing laps. Known for his dangerous late blocks, Logano has a knack for finding himself near the front when the laps are winding down. However, no one is safe from Logano when battling for the lead. Ask former teammate Brad Keselowski.
Speedweeks Outlook
When it comes to Daytona 500 qualifying, the big question is whether the new Mustang body will make a difference. Logano has usually qualified better than his Ford counterparts. However, it has not been enough to match the Chevys. As for his duel race, Logano usually runs competitively rather than laying back. He has won 3 duel races in the past 5 years, including last year. Logano might be a safe pick to win his duel. For the Daytona 500, expect Logano to win or wreck the field trying.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19
