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Logano Launches Into the Round of 12


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Quaker State 400:

Joey Logano scored his second points paying win of the season on Sunday afternoon in the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Logano, along with his Penske teammates, were among the class of the field all day Sunday and the 22 car has cemented itself into the round of 12 with the win. While many had already written Logano off from being a serious playoff contender due to his subpar (by his and Penske standards) of the regular season, Logano's win comes as a bit of a message to the field that they are to win it all. Additionally, Logano is trying to keep an impressive streak of making the Championship 4 in every even year since the inception of the current version of the playoffs.


New Atlanta lived up to the hype since its debut in 2022. In full transparency, I was a bit of a skeptic that this experiment was going to work. I was all for trying something new, but hated to lose the old worn out surface that Atlanta had become. Yet, the experiment has paid off. And now, we are getting the track to age, adding another element that drivers and teams will have to account for in setup and on race day. All the factors of the new Atlanta were on full display Sunday afternoon and it added up to an exciting and intense race. As alluded to above, the Penske Fords were tough all day long, but we did see challenges from a smattering of other drivers. We were also gifted with some attrition and few, but not too many, accidents that kept drivers on edge and laser focused to put on the best show they could for 400 miles.


I know many folks, from what I have read across articles, social media, and listened to on podcasts are still skeptical of Atlanta having been given a playoff spot. While it shifts back to a Summer race next year, I was not too turned off by it in the playoffs, especially in the round of 16. As the track continues to age, I believe it will truly be a "hybrid" drafting and intermediate track. To me, that is a unique style of track and racing, and adding it to the playoffs would prove to be another difficult task for drivers to overcome on their way to the championship. Even this past weekend, as the aging is starting to be blatantly obvious, we had drafting moves, drafting wrecks, and battles for the lead with a variety of leaders and lead changes as if we were at Daytona and Talladega. But we also heard drivers complaining about grip, needing to move around to avoid dirty air, and being on edge in and out of the draft - much like an intermediate. To me, it's a perfect mix of virtually everything a driver and team needs to overcome in the playoffs. Now, don't go making more of these types of tracks; one in Atlanta is enough.


No matter what you think or your take on the race, what was obvious was the Penske drivers and the Fords were pretty much the best cars of the day. And as Logano does for what seems like most of his wins, he runs well and near the front all day. He and his team put him in a position late to capitalize and then when Logano sniffs the lead and the checkered flag, he pounces to take advantage of the position and take the win. He truly is a masterclass on not giving away wins and being there when it matters. Of course, his teammate Ryan Blaney had a major influence on his win and Logano was grateful for the in victory lane. While I am not fully convinced this makes Logano a title contender, it is definitely something we cannot fully write off. He's advanced the next round early thus giving them more time to prepare, and has injected a ton of confidence in a team that needed something to finally fall their way.


NASCAR is now off to the Finger Lakes region of New York to Watkins Glen International. The truck folks have another weekend off so the Xfinity Series will kickoff the weekend on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST on USA for the Mission 200 at the Glen. The Cup Series wraps up the weekend on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST on USA for the Go Bowling at The Glen. Who punches their Round of 12 ticket next?


Watkins Glen Picks:

Cup = Larson

Xfinity = SVG

Trucks = Off

Header Photo: Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

 
 
 

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