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Joey Logano Searches For Third Win of 2022

(Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Since his thrilling overtime victory at Gateway two months ago, it’s been tough sledding for Joey Logano. In the last seven NASCAR Cup Series races, Logano has just two top-10 finishes and had a streak of four finishes 20th or worse between Road America and Pocono.

But, last weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Logano finished sixth to finally get back on track. However, Logano along with others have been in the public eye for aggressive driving at Indianapolis.

“I think it’s more this year than last year because the cars are more durable,” Logano said in a media conference Saturday. “Last year, you didn’t want to push a fender in.  You had more fender rubs.  Everyone is realized at this point that a little bit harder to cut down a tire, bodies are pretty tough, and so contact isn’t that bad.  That is the number one thing that we asked for when we built this Next Gen car was a more durable race car to where we could bump and bang more.”

Athough Logano has struggled at times this summer, his team is overall in a good position with the playoffs just around the corner. He has two victories and nine top-10 finishes this season, good for third in the playoff standings and seventh in driver’s points.

On Sunday, he’ll return to Michigan International Speedway — a very familiar place for him. In 25 starts, Logano has three wins, tying Talladega and Kansas for the most in his career at a single track.

(Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)

“Hopefully this racetrack falls into our wheelhouse from an engine perspective,” Logano said. “This is one of those racetracks where it just takes everything.  You’ve got to have power.  You’ve got to have the right amount of downforce and right amount of drag out of it.  You’ve got to hit that balance just right.  You’ve got to call the race just right.

“We’ve seen Michigan turn into fuel mileage before.  We’ve seen different strategies work here because the lack of tire fall off, where somebody may take a chance and get themselves up there at the end of the race somehow.  We’ve seen wild restarts here.  You’re gonna see that again, so I don’t see where it’s different than what it’s been in the past.”

Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 is also a home race for Ford, which gives those teams more of an incentive to win. Ford has won the last seven races at Michigan.

“There’s a certain level that the [Ford] teams feel comfortable working together with on certain things,” Logano said. “There’s a certain amount of information that everyone feels comfortable sharing and then there’s also a point that we need to race each other, and everyone kind of knows where those lines are.  It doesn’t make it different that we’re at Michigan or any other track because this is Ford’s backyard.  It’s the same no matter where we’re at.”

After Sunday’s race at Michigan, just three races will remain in the Cup Series regular season. The Next Gen car will return to Richmond for the second time next weekend before Watkins Glen and Daytona lead up to the playoffs.

Logano has victories at all three of those tracks, but most notably won the Daytona 500 and Watkins Glen in 2015.

Logano starts fourth in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan. The race is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. Ryan Blaney won last year’s race.

 

 

Nathan Solomon serves as the managing editor of The Podium Finish. He has been part of the team since 2021 and is accredited by the National Motorsports Press Association. Solomon is a senior in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University. Contact him at NSolly02@Yahoo.com.

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