Joey Logano would like nothing more than score an elusive Cup victory at Auto Club Speedway. (Photo: Michael Donohue | The Podium Finish)
FONTANA, Calif. – While Joey Logano is one of the most accomplished young drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, he has his sights set on a goal that may seem usual on the surface.
Like any driver, Logano wants to win Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). However, of the tracks that the two-time and reigning Cup champion has competed at in his career, he’s got a goose egg in the win column at the 2-mile superspeedway.
It has not been for a lack of effort from the 32-year-old Middletown, Connecticut native. If anything, he has knocked on the door throughout his Cup career at the Southern California speed palace.
Logano nearly won his second Daytona 500 before settling for a runner-up result. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
“It’s definitely one track, as far as on the Cup side, that to me, has kind of haunted me,” Logano said in Saturday’s availability. “We’ve run really well here, run up front, lots of top five finishes, lots of very close moments to winning. Go back to that race with Denny (Hamlin) and I wreck going into the last corner, how close we were to to win that one. You’re running towards the front in a lot of them.”
Last year, Logano was in the mix for the victory before Kyle Larson scooted past him and Chase Elliott in a wild scramble for the victory. On that occasion, the 31-time Cup race winner settled for a fifth place result.
On the other hand, Logano enjoys his Xfinity Series memories with Auto Club Speedway, particularly a duel from the 2019 fall race.
“I will say that maybe the Xfinity races (that) we’ve been able to win here have been pretty special,” he said. “(The) one Biffle and I raced the heck out of each other, it was a pretty cool one.
“So there’s been some success here for sure, especially in the Xfinity side, a lot of success. It’s sad that it’s coming to an end of an era, but I’d say some of my favorite memories just happened from rewatching the races.”
Presently, Logano does not have the luxury to replay races from the past ahead of Sunday’s race. Without any practice and qualifying sessions alongside a green track, it might be the wildest race yet once the Middletown, Connecticut native and his peers take to the track.
“I’m not as concerned about the cold temperatures as I am about the track weeping,” he said. “I think at this point, that’s probably what most everyone is nervous about. (It’s an) older track surface, a lot of cracks and stuff within it. I would assume that it’s gonna be really hard to drive this thing and we’re probably gonna start to race with wet spots on the race track. I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to get them all dry, maybe in the end. But it’s hard to do it because the tracks so wide, right?”
Despite the challenging conditions, Logano has a go get ’em attitude, especially once the track generally dries up.
“The groove, the racing groove is so wide,” he said. “But I would assume as the race goes, the very bottom, whether it’s on the front straightaway or in the seams itself, is probably gonna be weeping the whole race.
“So, I think that will be the biggest, like sketchy moments out there because at what point do we call it good enough? Let’s go. I think that’s gonna be the tricky part.”
If any driver is up to the task for tricky challenges, look no further than Logano. From the first races on the refit Kansas Speedway to storied, fabled venues like Darlington Raceway, Logano can wrassle a car at difficult tracks.
Perhaps he can tap into his experiences while contending for his first victory of the year.
Logano looks forward to a tricky Fontana race day. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
“It’s been a good track for Team Penske, whether it’s been the old car, Next Gen car, it’s just been a good track for us,” Logano said. “It’s just really kind of fit into whatever our mindset is and we’ve been able to have some good success there.
“So, hopefully we can continue to keep that same thing, right? Everyone’s always kind of catching us and doing different things and we have to keep evolving, but it seems like it’s been a good one for us.”
