Logano on playoff bubble, but he won’t play it safe

Several drivers eye standings as they head to Talladega.

Joey Logano knows he is in a precarious position heading to the Chase elimination race at Talladega, tied for the eighth and final spot for advancing to the next round of NASCAR’s playoffs.

There are two clear strategies his Penske Racing team could employ.

The first is the relatively low-risk option: They could spend the entire race at the unpredictable superspeedway spying on Austin Dillon, who is even with him in points, and Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, who are also within striking distance, and ensure they get through on points.

The riskier option? Race to win. “That’s the way I race. I don’t know a different way,” said Logano, whose thirdplace finish behind Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards on Sunday at Kansas made the points route possible.

“I’m sure we’ll talk about it this week,” Logano added, “but I’m a racer.”

At least three Chase contenders don’t have the same dilemma. Harvick and Jimmie Johnson are already locked into the next round by virtue of their wins in the first two stops of the round, and Chase Elliott’s trouble for the second straight week left him in a must-win situation.

The other nine drivers are much like Logano, racing to win but keeping a wary eye on points.

“The big thing that swung everything around was Kevin winning. We would have been in pretty good shape if he had finished second,” Logano said. “It isn’t disappointing because we still should be proud of the effort we had, but it would have meant a lot if he finished second.”

That’s because Harvick had problems of his own in the round at Charlotte, which means even second place at Kansas would have put him squarely on the bubble heading to Talladega.

Logano should at least have some confidence heading to the volatile restrictor-plate track. After years of weak results, he won there last fall.

Meanwhile, Dillon was third there earlier this year, Hamlin won there a couple of years ago, and Keselowski won for the fourth time there earlier this year.

“I don’t think it’s a mustwin situation,” said Keselowski, who spun into the grass and tore up his car before finishing 38th at Kansas. “I’m not worried about it. I’m going to go there and bust my butt to try to win, but I don’t think it’s a mustwin yet.”

Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Edwards and Kurt Busch are relatively safe after steering clear of major trouble the last two rounds, and Martin Truex Jr. has a 13-point cushion over eighth place.

Make your pick: NASCAR could take steps soon to limit Sprint Cup driver participation in lower series, a point driven home after Kyle Busch won his ninth Xfinity Series race of the year at Kansas. NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell was asked about the dominance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week and said something could change in the rules by next year.

“We’ve heard the fans. It’s interesting, it’s been a balance throughout the years,” he said. “We have always had Sprint Cup drivers come into the Xfinity Series and sometimes dominate.

“As the sport has evolved, one of the great things is we’ve got more of a fan following in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. They like seeing those drivers come up through the ranks and it’s our job to make sure that Xfinity is where names are made.”

NASCAR is already prohibiting any Sprint Cup driver who was in last year’s Chase from competing in this year’s season finale for the Xfinity and Truck Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Of the 30 Xfinity races this season, 19 have been won by Sprint Cup regulars.

Joey Logano is tied for the eighth and final playoff spot.