Why Joey Logano is not losing confidence despite frustrating season

If there is any team in the Cup Series that can rise to the challenge and step up when the playoffs roll around, Logano and the No. 22 bunch have proved time and again that you can never count them out.

Even with the worst average finish (17.1) of any Cup Series champion in history, Logano hoisted the trophy by season's end in 2024. It was not without a little luck, though, as he advanced to the Round of 8 after Alex Bowman was disqualified at the Charlotte Roval for failing to meet postrace weight requirements.

Even though the results do not show it with only one top-10 finish in the last eight races, Logano is encouraged by the team's recent performance from a speed perspective.

"I feel like there's a lot of positives right now around the 22 from a speed perspective. You know, Dover has notoriously been our worst racetrack and we were pretty good there," Logano said. "Like, we weren't great. We weren't going to go up there and win the race, but we can run in the top six to 10. That's way better than last year. And Indy, we had better speed than we had last year and we were positioned to win that race if we just can keep air in the tire."

The finishes certainly do not show it, but Logano was solid at Dover and was in position to win the Brickyard 400 until a flat right-rear tire on Lap 135 derailed his chances.

His crew chief Paul Wolfe is one of the best in the sport at going off the beaten path with his strategy calls and giving Logano a shot to win even if the speed is not there.

Logano is also locked into the playoffs, putting him in position to race for his fourth title. The outright speed is not there, but if his team plays the strategy game correctly and he can consistently put some finishes together, it would not be a total shock to see him advance through the playoffs if things fall his way.