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Logano on unpredictable Talladega: "You create your own luck"

Joey Logano doesn’t have the cushion he enjoyed entering last year’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Crash for Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

Crash for Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

Action Sports Photography

Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Winner Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford race winner
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford and Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford and Jamie McMurray, Ganassi Racing Chevrolet crash
Winner Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Winner Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Crash for Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, David Ragan, Front Row Motorsports Ford, Michael McDowell
Ryan Blaney, Wood Brothers Racing Ford and Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford and Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing Ford and Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet

The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford had won at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway leading into the third race in the Round of 12. 

We’re gonna go out there and race hard because that’s what we know how to do when we come to speedways.

Joey Logano

Logano had nothing to lose. Now, Logano sits eighth in the standings and needs to retain his position if he hopes to transfer to the Round of 8.

Confidence level

As the defending race winner, Logano has added confidence leading into Sunday’s Hellman’s 500. 

“It definitely helps knowing you can win here,” Logano said. “We’ve had a good, solid speedway program at Team Penske the last couple years and when you come to Talladega you get excited about it.  

“It’s not quite like that for everybody, but for us we get excited about speedway racing and the opportunity that presents itself this weekend, so we’re ready to get on the race track and see what we’ve got.”

His Penske teammate has become a plate racing ace

Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski won his fourth Talladega race in the spring — his third since joining Team Penske. Keselowski also won this summer’s race at Daytona while Logano was victorious in the 2015 Daytona 500. 

“Having fast race cars become key in these speedway races,” Keselowski said. “I think we’ve had some fast cars lately. I think that helps. I think having a good understanding of the draft is something that’s been a big deal. We were able to win a couple speedway races last year, so I feel confident that we still know how to do this. 

“But I think having that relationship with your spotter and understanding what happens in the draft and why you’re gonna do things and understanding what information you need to hear and what is useless information and clarifying that as much as you can before the race, during the race and even after the race to help you through the next one.  

“Speedway racing isn’t as much of a crapshoot as a lot of people like to believe it is.  It sounds like it’s just an excuse to me. I think there is a lot of strategy and a lot of knowledge that has to go into playing this game.”

Luck and pack racing

Logano doesn’t believe that luck plays into winning restrictor plate races. He feels the key to winning at Daytona and Talladega is “skill and preparation.” 

“You create your own luck,” Logano said. “That’s what I think. There might be a chance you run over something or something happens, but some things are just meant to be and some things aren’t.  

“But if you can work and do everything you can do and prepare yourself to go out there and be the best, then that’s all you can do.  I feel like that makes it, in my opinion, a lot about preparation.”

Part of the game plan last year at Talladega was an effort to advance Keselowski into the third round of the Chase. With Logano was locked in, he could afford to help his teammate. Since neither driver is safe in the standings, the dynamic has changed this weekend. Sure, the teammates will do all they can to help the other.

Survival

But Logano’s first responsibility is to the No. 22 Team Penske crew — and watching his own back.

“I don’t really think about how people are trying to knock me out,” Logano said. “I think about how I’m gonna knock other people out. That’s my attitude. If I’m on defense, we’re not gonna win. We better stay on offense. That’s what this 22 team does.  

“We’re gonna go out there and race hard because that’s what we know how to do when we come to speedways. Some guys can do it good the other way but, for us, we’re gonna go out there and race hard and try to stay up front, try to keep making our car better for the end of the race and be there at the end.” 

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