Two former NASCAR Cup Series champions off to slow starts in 2024

While five drivers have already punched their tickets to NASCAR's postseason with wins, two former Cup Series champions have gotten off to less than desirable starts to their 2024 seasons. 

Both Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have struggled mightily through the first five races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, with Busch sitting on the playoff bubble and Logano mired in the 26th spot in the points standings, 48 points behind Busch for the final playoff spot. 

After another near miss in the Daytona 500, Busch finished third in the wild three-wide photo finish at Atlanta, a race that has proven to be his only top-10 showing of the season. At both Phoenix and Bristol, Busch spun multiple times, finishing one lap down in both races. 

Logano, meanwhile, also nearly won the Daytona 500 before being involved in a late race crash. He then became a source of controversy following the race at Atlanta, where it was discovered he used illegal gloves during his qualifying run. While Logano did record his lone top-10 finish on the year the following weekend at Las Vegas, ninth felt like a disappointing result after he started on the pole. 

Slow cars and incidents have plagued him the last two weeks at Phoenix and Bristol, as Logano finished 34th and 22nd in the two races, respectively. The biggest issue for the No. 22 team, however, is its complete lack of speed. Outside of Daytona, Logano, a two-time Cup Series champion, has shown a serious lack of race-winning pace, which makes many skeptical that he could be a championship contender this season even if he does make the playoffs. 

For Busch, the opposite seems to be true. While he has been slow by his standards the previous two weeks, he was in contention to win at both Daytona and Atlanta and had a top-five car at Las Vegas before a pit road penalty ultimately ended his competitive day. While Logano sits 26th in points, Busch currently holds the final playoff spot, 12 points above 17th place driver Michael McDowell. 

So, what is the fix for these struggling teams? For Logano, the focus needs to be on bringing fast cars to the track. Even if the finishes aren't there, the No. 22 team needs to prove that they are still to be feared by the competition. For Kyle Busch, the opposite is true. The No. 8 team has plenty of speed under the hood, but needs to focus on being efficient on pit road and maximizing results, even in races where the speed simply isn't there.