The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch was a stretch that generated a roller coaster ride for Joey Logano, who managed to thrive late in the season and when it mattered most ultimately enabled him and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse team to make the Playoffs and have another opportunity to add another title to the driver’s successful racing resume in stock car competition.
The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, roared out of the gate by winning the pole position for the 66th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. He would then finish 32nd in the main event after he was collected in a late multi-car wreck while contending for the victory. Including the 500 result, Logano would finish no higher than ninth once, but get strapped with four finishes of 22nd or worse before he recorded a strong runner-up result at Richmond Raceway in late March.
With six results of 16th or worse and only three top-10 results accumulated over his next 11 starts, Logano’s 2024 Cup Series Playoffs hopes were within reach as he was mired towards the top-16 cutline in the Playoff standings. Then, Logano’s championship hopes of the season were resurrected after the Connecticut veteran withstood five overtime attempts and a fuel tank that was on the verge of being dry to grab his first elusive victory of the season at Nashville Superspeedway in late June.
Since the Nashville victory, Logano has only finished in the top eight twice but has finished 19th or worse five times during a seven-race stretch. As a result, Logano’s points and results, including the Nashville victory, were enough for him to be strapped into ninth place in the current Playoff standings with 2,007 points.
Currently, Logano’s eight top-10 results he accumulated throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch are the lowest he has accumulated and his average-finishing result of 18.3 is low, both occurring in 2011. Nonetheless, the Connecticut native, who will square off against teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric along with Penske-affiliated teammate Harrison Burton, remains poised to transfer his way into the finale a year after being eliminated following the first round and raise the championship trophy as he did in 2018 and again in 2022.
“It’s nice to have all our [Team Penske] cars and you having four in [the Playoffs], even with the Wood Brothers car [and driver Harrison Burton], which is pretty much under our roof here,” Logano said following the regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway. “It’s nice to have them all in there. It’s game time now, right? This is the time to shine and the cream always rises at the top through the Playoffs, so got to be able to execute through all these races. Got to go fast through them. The first round is obviously pretty crazy with the racetracks that are involved there. It’s no smooth ride from here. It’s not a simple way of getting [to the finale], so got to be solid here. We don’t have a whole bunch of Playoff points on our side, but we got a couple. We’ll fire away and see what we got.”
Joey Logano’s pursuit for his third NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2024 commences at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400 and the start of the 2024 Playoffs. The event is scheduled to occur this upcoming Sunday, September 8, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
