Team Penske veteran Joey Logano has his eyes set on the points table as a tumultuous NASCAR season progresses for the two-time Cup champion.
While Logano won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2022, the Connecticut native failed to set the world alight during his title defense. The 33-year-old holds the unfortunate distinction of being the first defending champion to be eliminated from the first round of Cup playoffs.
2024 has not been any kinder for Logano either. The Team Penske veteran has failed to register a single win in over a year, and currently finds himself struggling to place himself above the playoff cutline. He has 269 points to his name after 12 races, 14 less than the sixteenth
Addressing the situation, Logano spoke to Bob Pockrass prior to the NASCAR Cup race at Darlington Raceway. When asked if he’s starting to look at points every week, Logano, who is worth $24 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth) nodded in agreement. He said:
“I would always look at points.”
“We are obviously still in a position to point in. You know, suddenly we can bail out in points yet or go all in for wins. Either way, I think you still just got to go for the best finish as possible, and probably the best chances to get that is maybe all or nothing.”
Joey Logano on “hitting the panic button” as failure threat looms
Reflecting on the mounting pressure, Logano admitted to contemplating a shift in approach as playoff implications loom large. Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the No. 22 Team Penske driver described the urgency to explore new strategies and tactics. He said:
“When you get in a situation like this it’s, you know, you start to hit the panic button a little bit. Whereas you’re trying a lot of new things, you’re swinging the bat at whatever you can think of. Let’s try this, well let’s try this, this isn’t working, let’s try this, and you’re just trying to find a direction because you get a little bit lost.”
Confronted with the reality of lagging performance metrics and the looming threat of playoff exclusion, Joey Logano added:
“We’ve got no speed, we’ve gotta do something different. What direction do we go? It’s not a great place to be if I’m being real. It’s definitely a very challenging place to be.”
After 13 races in the 2024 season, Joey Logano has accumulated 269 points in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, courtesy of a runner-up finish in Richmond. His most recent outing in Kansas ended with a DNF.
