Once favorite, Logano needs win
It shouldn’t have come to this for Joey Logano. But the best driver in this Chase for the Sprint Cup, who swept the three-race second round and appeared to be on autopilot toward the championship final just a week ago, has just one hack left at reaching Homestead-Miami Speedway with a chance at a first championship.
And it’s a Kevin Harvick home game. His perennial nemesis would probably muster a grin in sending Logano into postseason oblivion. Not a good scenario.
Logano absorbed another blow to his hopes Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Last week it was being wrecked while leading at Martinsville Speedway, costing him that deserved ticket to Homestead.
Sunday it was a blown left rear tire just 10 laps into the AAA Texas 500 that relegated him to a 40th-place finish. He had qualified fourth and was running the same when the tire failed, ruining a car that, with Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford, had been one of the fastest of the weekend.
Damage incurred from shredding rubber sent Logano to the garage, but he didn’t drive there immediately. Disconnected radio cables prevented crew chief Todd Gordon from communicating with the team, and Logano initially drove to his pit stall instead. He was directed to his garage bay by crewmen.
Logano returned 66 laps down and rode out the afternoon. He had entered the weekend last of eight drivers still eligible for the title, so in that sense his situation hasn’t changed.
“Same as this week,” Logano said. “This was a must-win situation as well. If we finished second today we would be in the same boat going into Phoenix. I feel great about our chances at Phoenix. It has been a great racetrack for us in the past. I felt like this track was a great one for us as well. It is unfortunate that we finished how we did.”
But now he’s down to one shot, with a fast car wasted.
And he’s entering Harvick’s playground next weekend. Harvick has won seven races, five of the last six and four in a row at the 1-mile track in the Phoenix suburbs. He’s not going to want that to end, and the thought of Logano being the one to end his streak is likely to sharpen his driving and oratory skills entering this crucial race.
Harvick had troubles of his own Sunday in two punctured tires and recurrent transmission problems but rallied to finish third, actually improving to third in the standings. He’s hardly safe, however, just 10 points ahead of fifth-place Carl Edwards. He will race to win for the trophy and for the momentum, and that’s disconcerting for both Penske drivers.
In being passed for the win by Jimmie Johnson with three laps left, Keselowski, who led 312 of 334 laps, lost an automatic ticket to Homestead. And his team lost a chance to have both cars in the final. He’s sixth, 19 points out of the final transfer slot.
In two weeks, Logano has gone from a prime title contender to the verge of being yet another standout ejected by this merciless version of the Chase. He was cruising to the final before Matt Kenseth’s retaliation last week — intentionally wrecking Logano while driving 10 laps down for being bumped off the front spot late at Kansas Speedway — made things complicated. The tire failure Sunday made Kenseth’s retribution all the more effective.
And so next weekend at Phoenix another of Logano’s rivals has a chance to finish the job.
“I feel great about our chances at Phoenix. ... I felt like this track was a great one for us as well. It is unfortunate that we finished how we did.”
Joey Logano