Why Team Penske should not be discouraged by frustrating start to 2025 season

At first glance, you would think Team Penske has been the team to beat through the first six races of 2025. After all, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and defending champion Joey Logano have led more laps than anyone else and consistently put themselves toward the front of the field.

However, that does not tell the entire story for the organization. Cindric has led 159 laps but only has a pair of top-10 finishes. Blaney has paced the field for 148 laps, including 124 laps out front at Homestead-Miami Speedway, only to suffer a blown engine for the second time in three weeks.

Then, there's Logano. The three-time Cup Series champion has led a series-best 247 laps this season and qualified in the top five for four of the six races. Despite the speed he has shown so far, Logano has yet to finish in the top 10 this season, becoming the first defending Cup Series champion to not record a top-10 finish in the first six races.

Despite the adversity each of the three drivers have faced this season, all three are inside the top five in stage points accumulated and sit in the top 10 when it comes to the best average running position in the Cup Series.

Although Cindric's average finish of 17.5 is the best of the three, Blaney sits the highest in points (10th), while Logano is 11th. Cindric is mired in 21st as he tries to overcome a 50-point post-race penalty from right-hooking Kaulig Racing's Ty Dillon at Circuit of The Americas on March 2.

If you look back to last season, though, Team Penske is bringing a lot more speed to the track so far, albeit without the finishes to show for it.

For comparison, through six races last season, Cindric only led 45 laps and had one top 10 while Blaney produced three top fives, but only found the front of the field for 57 laps. Logano led 79 laps and started first or second three times in the first six races with only one top 10 to back it up.

While the inability to consistently produce good finishes has persisted for the trio, Travis Geisler, Team Penske's vice president of competition, points to better execution as the No. 1 priority.

"It's obviously frustrating to be in a situation where we've had really good cars that are capable of winning every week and just haven't really been able to execute and get it done," Geisler told NASCAR.com. "But I think the key is the process is working as far as what we're bringing to the race track. That's the hardest part of this game, is finding speed. And right now, I think all the teams are doing that. We've just got to execute on all the other facets of the game."

It is not like the entire organization is lacking speed and execution. Even last season when Logano got off to a slow start, he was the only one left standing as the Cup Series champion when the checkered flag waved at Phoenix.

All three drivers clearly have the speed to contend right now. If the execution can match the speed, don't be surprised to see the Team Penske trio in Victory Lane soon.

That next stop is Martinsville Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Blaney has visited Victory Lane each of the last two fall races.