Joey Logano’s spring victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway has become a lot more important than he thought it was at the time.
“You assume the win is big and it gets you in the playoffs and all that, but you fast forward however many races it’s been since we’ve been here (at Atlanta), and it’s bigger than what we thought it would be,” Logano said.
With only one triumph in 18 races, it’s become a relief for the Team Penske driver to know he’ll be able to mount a title defense come the playoff opener in September.
He may be 10th in points as the series makes its summer return to Atlanta Sunday evening, but it’s not necessarily an ideal position for the No. 22 Ford Mustang driver.
“We’d probably have been in a decent spot to make the playoffs still, but it’s a lot more comfortable when you have a win and you know that you’re in the playoffs and you can focus in on some other things and trying to grow your team and get smarter and all those things,” Logano said. “We’re not where we need to be.”
The 33-year-old has nine top-10 finishes to his credit this season, including his eighth-place result at the inaugural Chicago Street Race.
But he’s well aware that several drivers and teams have been establishing themselves as frontrunners over the regular season, making it “easier to tell” who the heavy hitters will be during the playoffs.
“Last year was almost harder to tell because there were so many winners and all that,” Logano said, referencing the Next Gen car’s debut season, which featured 19 different winners in 36 races.
This year, there have been 12 drivers who have visited victory lane, with Martin Truex Jr., William Byron and Kyle Busch being the only repeat winners.
Logano added, “This year, it seems like it’s starting to see more common guys up front, but the thing now is that the whole team matters. Before, if you had a fast car, you could get away with a slow pit stop. You could get away with a bad restart every now and again because your car is fast enough to make it up.
“The top 10 looked almost the same every time. Now, boy, if you’re a fifth-place car, but you have 15th-place pit stops all day, you’re going to finish 12th.”
Logano is still trying to find a way to tighten the gap between the No. 22 and his Cup Series counterparts, and he’s been relying on the entire Team Penske crew to help move the needle.
“We keep hustling and trying and swinging the bat and doing everything we possibly can do,” Logano said.
The No. 22 was off to a good start during Cup Series qualifying at Atlanta on Saturday afternoon and will start fourth during Sunday’s Quaker State 400.