Team Penske and Ford finally had something to celebrate at the EchoPark Speedway, and no, it wasn't just Ryan Blaney’s victory. Joey Logano, who's going through a slump this season, managed to squeeze in at P9, while Austin Cindric also came in at P14. 

Speaking to Frontstretch after the race, Logano reflected on the team's performance at EchoPark Speedway. While he acknowledged it wasn't the ideal finish he and his team were hoping for, he emphasized the importance of securing points. He also noted that his car was very competitive when running in clear air, but struggled when in traffic. 

“It just got us closer here. I wouldn't say it's everything we wanted out of the day, but we got a lot of points out of it, and we needed that. So it could have been much worse than coming to Atlanta."

"Sometimes we hit or miss, and it didn't quite finish as good as we wanted to. I think if we get our car up front, we were good and getting packed, but we got stuck wherever we were. So, it was hard to move back up,” he said, in the video uploaded by Frontstretch.

When asked about the team’s path going forward, he said, “Yeah, it's closer (to where it needs to be). Just got to get our cars handled a little better.” 

Logano’s comments and the team’s performance after a period of intense speculation regarding whether the rest of its drivers apart from Blaney would be able to enter The Chase. The Atlanta result was only Logano's sixth top-10 finish in 20 races so far.

While the results at EchoPark have given some hope to the team, they know it is still not an easy path ahead. 

The three-time Cup champion is currently in 17th place in the rankings, while Austin Cindric sits at 14th. Both drivers will need to ensure they consistently finish in or around the Top 10 and focus on gaining as many points as possible. 

Geographical diversity over revisiting destinations

In a recent interaction with reporters, Logano pushed back against the idea of adding multiple races in the same region. 

Earlier this month, while addressing rumors about Chicagoland Speedway and the Chicago street course on the NASCAR calendar, Logano said that the series should continue prioritizing geographic variety instead of doubling up on destinations.

“Our sport's always done a good job at doing different things, and never just having the same type of tracks, right? Never been just ovals. Big ones, small ones, road courses. Back then, there was dirt, right? Like all that stuff," he said, in the video posted on X by Frontstretch.

"That's what makes NASCAR better than every other form of sports, because you do different things all the time. I like that part of it. Where do we end up? Your guess is as good as mine at this point because it seems like we won't try anything.” 

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!  

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason