Frustration Builds for Joey Logano After Consecutive Terrible Race Results

Joey Logano is enduring a brutal stretch of racing. He has 3 consecutive finishes of 30th or worse in the NASCARCup Series. Following 11 races, Logano has now fallen one spot out of the playoff bubble, 7 points behind Chase Briscoe, who is in 16th.

The Team Penske contingent as a whole is falling below expectations. Ryan Blaney has one win this season, standing in 4th place in the driver standings. Other than Blaney, Austin Cindric is on the bubble in 15th place, and Logano is out of it. In 33 combined starts, the team has just 13 top-10 finishes.

Ahead of the generally dominant Ford team is RFK Racing. They seem to have taken the reins as the best Ford's in 2026, standing all 3 drivers comfortably in the playoff picture. Chris Buescher is 5th, Brad Keselowski is 9th, and Ryan Preece is 12th.

Why is Logano Struggling?

While a struggling Logano can have fans think, "Oh, he must have dealt with many wrecks," that is somewhat incorrect. Twice this year, Logano exited a race early (Phoenix, Texas), but that is all. For a former champion on a top team, despite wrecks, he would be thought to own a playoff position at the very least.

Logano has actually done okay in qualifying. In fact, his one bad race at Phoenix was one in which Logano started on pole position. Since then, however, he has faltered. Over Logano's last 7 races, he has only one top-10 qualifying result (Martinsville). He has qualified outside the top-20 in consecutive weekends.

Concern seemed to be low for Logano after his early Texas exit. He told the media that the team had "impressive speed despite a bad qualifying effort." "It's been a tough year, to say the least," but Team Penske strides forward.

Ford's Fall Short in 2026