September 1, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Don't count out Joey Logano among the Championship favorites

CHARLOTTE—Let the pundits pick Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson or Denny Hamlin as favorites entering the NASCAR Playoffs. 

Joey Logano is betting on himself. 

Considering that the postseason kicks off at Darlington Raceway, where Logano won from the pole in May, he has every reason to believe the No. 22 Team Penske Ford is ready for another title run.

“Well, you know me, I always feel like I'm the favorite,” Logano said. “I race that way. That confidence is very important and I think we have reason to feel that way. If I look at the last five races, we scored more points than anybody, 44 points more than anybody in the last five (races). 

“That says a lot about our team, shows where we are about maximizing our days. That's what the playoffs is about. Yes, winning is important, but maximizing the day is the most important. When I look at the last five, three-straight stage wins in the last three races and then, scoring more points than anybody, that's what puts us in position.”

With four finishes of sixth or better in the last five races, accumulating stage points in the last seven stages—including three stage wins, Logano vaulted from seventh to second after the points were readjusted. 

“I told my team this yesterday—we’re the favorites, and here’s why,” Logano said. “If you do the work, and you feel prepared, I’d better feel like I’m the best out there. There’s a balance between all that, right? Because do I feel like I’m the best in every category on the race track? No. But I feel like I’m the best well-rounded driver on the race track, and that’s important.”

Chevrolet won 15 of the first 26 races. Toyota has five wins and plenty of speed but has simply lacked the execution on a weekly basis to close the deal. Logano doesn’t feel the Fords are currently as fast, but the Mustangs are “getting closer”.
In Logano’s favor is the strength of the No. 22 Penske team led by crew chief Paul Wolfe.
 
“I feel like my team is executing on all eight (cylinders) right now,”  Logano said. “When you look at the way we are managing the races from a strategy standpoint, Paul is doing great at that, where we’re finishing better than the speed in our car. So that part’s great.
 
“Our pit stops have been solid. That’s what you want out of your pit crew. Our restarts and execution on the race track have been great here lately. That’s where we’ve really made the difference. 

“When you look at the stage points and the finishes, all that’s coming from how we execute the races throughout it, without the fastest car. And then when we get a car that’s capable of winning—look out!” 
 
Logano was tremendously strong at Darlington in the spring. He led 107 laps in his first career win at the Track too Tough to Tame. Despite the win, Logano still considers Darlington the most challenging venue on the NASCAR tour. 

“Five hundred miles at Darlington doesn't go by very fast,” Logano said. “It's really not much shorter than Coke 600 by time, a lot of times, so it's tough. The track changes a lot throughout that amount of time as the sun goes down. You're running up, next to the wall the whole time, so you're really kind of pushing yourself the whole time. You’re on the ragged edge, where mistakes are very costly.  

“There are a lot of green-flag cycles—and that’s just from the driver’s seat. Imagine what it's like for the pit crews. You have more pit stops than normal at other tracks. The strategy of that for the crew chief and engineers to figure out with how these split different green flag runs and how that goes with the tire fall off is a big piece.

"So yeah, it's a tough one. That's what means. That's why the Southern 500 is one of the Crown Jewel events, right? It's right up there, you know, with Coke 600 and Indy in the Southern 500, they're all under the same blanket, if you ask me.”