Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez discuss 2024 postseason approaches

Logano is the Cup Series' most recent winner at Nashville, and though his season has been topsy-turvy through the first four and a half months, he believes the No. 22 team has what it takes to win their third championship. 

"We always think we can go out and win the championship," Logano said. "There's a lot of stepping stones in order to get there."

In his championship seasons of 2018 and 2022, Logano was hardly ever viewed as a championship favorite - and it seems he wants to keep that underdog mentality in 2024, too. 

"In 2018, I remember having a conversation with my wife and saying, 'I hope we get through the first round of these playoffs.' Then all of a sudden it got better and we go out and win the whole thing. She reminds me all the time, 'Just remember 2018!'"

"I'm like, 'Okay, honey!" Logano said. "But she's right. You just have to stick around. You got to be in it to win it is so real with our playoffs. Are we seeded the best right now? No. We don't have enough playoff points. But I've also seen plenty of times where if you can just be solid, get through the rounds, and win the races that matter, you're around long enough where the speed knob gets turned up."

Daniel Suarez, meanwhile, sounded a little less optimistic about the No. 99 team's championship chances, though he did say a run is possible if consistent speed can be found under the hood. 

"I feel like we have work to do," Suarez said. "I believe if the playoffs were starting tomorrow, we would really change the mindset and the way we've been doing things. But saying that, it's impossible to go to the playoffs and flip a switch and be strong."

"I think when we have good speed, we're good. We can execute a good race and in the top 10 and top five. We did it at Iowa. We just have to get more consistent."

In a year that has seen more bad days than good for the No. 99 team, Suarez admitted that some of their results are unacceptable.

"At New Hampshire, I had probably the worst car I'd ever had at New Hampshire. I talked to my guys about this... We're going to miss on some races. We're not going to have a great car every single weekend. But on the weekends that we miss, we can't miss by a lot," he explained. "Our misses should be top-20, not running 30th."

"I feel in some ways, we've been trying to hit a jackpot too much as a group," Suarez concluded. "We have to be a little better with that, and I think then, we're going to be able to make a deep run in the playoffs."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.