NASCAR: A perfect 10-year run could come to an end at Charlotte

As a die-hard NASCAR fan with years of experience under my belt, I must say that Team Penske’s Joey Logano has been nothing short of enigmatic at Talladega Superspeedway this season. Despite leading laps and showing promise, he’s had a tough time securing top 10 finishes. But hey, that’s racing for you!

Joey Logano from Team Penske headed to Talladaga Superspeedway in the afternoon on Sunday, boasting only one top-10 finish in his last ten races there, surprisingly, despite leading laps in nine out of those ten events.

In his last 11 races at the 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer), four-turn high-banked oval of Lincoln, Alabama, the driver of the No. 22 Ford achieved a top-10 finish, even though he led an additional 19 laps in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 race.

In the final stages of a significant crash (often referred to as “The Big One”), Logano was eliminated, resulting in him finishing in 33rd position. This is his fourth finish outside the top thirty in the last ten races. Currently, this two-time champion ranks ninth in the standings, falling short by 13 points of the cutoff line for the round of eight, with only the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval left on the schedule for the round of twelve.

If Logano fails to advance, it will end an odd – no pun intended – Championship 4 streak.

The current playoff system for the Cup Series was established in 2014. In every even-year season since then, Logano has managed to reach the Championship 4, claiming titles in 2018 and most recently in 2022. However, he hasn’t qualified during any of the odd-numbered years.

A failure to advance to the round of 8 would buck that trend three weeks early this year.

Since the Charlotte Roval was included on the schedule in 2018, Logano has consistently performed well there. However, it’s not a given that he will be eliminated this weekend. Over six races, his average finishing position is 8.67, with two top-five finishes and three more inside the top ten. Notably, he came in second place in 2020, and he has earned stage points in five out of those six races, averaging 4.08 per stage.

However, the 2024 season has been particularly challenging for Logano. His average race result is the poorest it’s been since 2011, standing at 18.3. He’s only managed five top-five finishes and nine top-ten finishes – both figures being the lowest since his rookie year in 2011. Furthermore, his total laps led this season amounts to 301, which is his least since 2012.

If it weren’t for a thrilling five-overtime race at Nashville Superspeedway and a remarkable fuel-saving drive, I wouldn’t have made it into the playoffs this year – something I’ve managed to do every season since 2017.

As a gamer, I managed to secure a spot within the top 16 in points during the regular season, but the diversity of winners this year made things tricky. With three winless drivers ahead of me, the cut line didn’t favor them as much, unfortunately, and they missed out on qualifying.

In the opening game of the 16th round in Atlanta Motor Speedway last year, he scored an additional victory for his 2024 total. Despite having lower stats overall, his performance in the 2024 playoffs has significantly improved compared to last year, as he was the first reigning champion not to advance past the round of 12 in the previous season.

If Logano manages to move on to the final round, it would be tough to bet against him for a spot in the Championship 4, given that even with his struggling 2024 season so far. His unexpected win of the championship in 2018 shows he can perform well when least expected, and his average finish when winning the title in 2022 was his poorest since 2017. This indicates that he’s capable of turning things around when it matters most.

Essentially, what this means is that during the final stages of the playoffs, everything else becomes irrelevant, and Logano demonstrates his ability to navigate the postseason successfully – but only every other year.

Tune into the Bank of America Roval 400 this Sunday, October 13, at 2:00 p.m. ET, live on NBC, straight from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval! If you’d like to catch every thrilling moment of the last road course race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, sign up for a free trial of FuboTV today and never miss a beat!

2024-10-07 16:02

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