When NASCAR changed its playoff format over the offseason, everybody knew that no driver was going to suffer worse than Joey Logano. But it was hard to expect just how steep the drop-off would be.
Logano is a three-time Cup Series champion, but as NASCAR fans will gladly tell you, he didn't actually "deserve" a single one of them. Of course, he played by the same rules as every other driver, but he's never led the series in full-season points and often needed some incredibly fortunate breaks to have a chance, especially during his most recent title season in 2024.
This year, Logano's luck has run out in a major way, and there are no more bailouts. As a result, he's sitting outside the 16-man field nearly halfway through the regular season.
Joey Logano missing the Chase would be the ultimate chef's kiss to the overhauled postseason format
After finishing 37th in Sunday's Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway because he drove straight into a car stopped on pit road, Logano sits 17th in points after 11 races. He has only three top 10 finishes and hasn't led more than three laps in an event since the race at Phoenix Raceway in March.
It's arguably Logano's worst season since he moved to Team Penske in 2013, and there's a very real possibility at this point that he could miss the Chase. Chase Briscoe sits seven markers ahead of him for the final spot, and he can be expected to pull away once his luck even slightly stabilizes.
With three road courses races between now and the fall, Shane van Gisbergen (27 points back) will probably pick up some all-important winner's bonus points.
Logano is lucky he even still has a fighting chance at all, due to the fact that 16 drivers is far too big of a playoff field to begin with. When unremarkable mid-pack drivers such as Daniel Suarez and Ryan Preece are comfortably in the postseason picture, it would seem nearly impossible for any big names to miss out.
Ross Chastain is probably going to, because Trackhouse Racing can't get out of its own way unless van Gisbergen carries them on a road course. But Logano has a teammate in Ryan Blaney who is fourth in points, despite having one of the series' worst pit crews, and even Austin Cindric, the "other" Penske driver, is above him in 15th. His regression has been astounding.
It's only fitting, though. For years, Logano and his team exploited the system to pump up his accolades. Now, that system is gone and he might just miss out on a shot at the postseason entirely.
Add us as a preferred source on Google