WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – The season’s first Playoff race winner, Logano said Friday from Watkins Glen that the best part of claiming the win at the Atlanta Playoff opener was the ability now for his No. 22 Team Penske to start looking ahead to Round 2. But perhaps the biggest lift the 34-year-old two-time series champ and his team got was the affirmation that despite a slow start to the season, they are where they need to be now and championship-focused.
Although Logano won pole position at two of the season’s first three races, he had only three top-10 finishes in the opening 14 races and didn’t win a trophy until June 30 – the 19th race – at Nashville. He had only two more top-10 finishes in the seven races afterward leading into the Playoffs.
“We’ve been here before where we’ve not had the best regular season, and then the Playoffs start, and you’re like, where did all that come from?” said Logano, who won at Watkins Glen in 2015. “It happens a lot. So, I’d say we’ve always felt pretty confident that we can go win the championship on any year no matter how you get into playoffs.
“You hear a lot of drivers say you just got to stay in it, survive and advance. That’s important to keep in mind because if you can survive long enough — and we talked about how close the field is these days — you have a couple good races and boom you’re in the next round. You have another good race where you win one and next thing you know you’re in a Championship Four and you’ve got a shot to win this whole thing.
“So, it doesn’t take much to be to go from mediocre through the regular season to being a threat to win the championship,” he added. “It’s the smallest little detail. So, to ever think you’re out of it is kind of crazy to think.”
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
