Logano praises "out of control cars" with Michigan rules package

He’s 2-2 while NASCAR has experimented with the lower downforce configuration in the All-Star Race and at Michigan Speedway. 

It should be a challenge. It should be on the edge. It shouldn't be easy, and at this level it definitely isn’t.

Joey Logano

Yes, Logano had an early wake up call in the FireKeepers Casino 400 — even before he completed a full lap on Sunday. But he clearly doesn’t mind driving a car that proved to be a handful for some competitors at the two-mile track. 

“I went down into Turn 1 the first lap, and I thought I was King Kong,” Logano said. “I drove down in there and about crashed. That didn't work out so well. So I learned a lot from that one. You know, it's just the cars are out of control. 

“No doubt, they are out of control crazy, and it makes it a lot of fun, but you've got to think if you're in that pack a little bit, you're going faster down the straightaways, you're getting a huge draft when cars are side‑by‑side in front of you, and you have no downforce at all, and especially when you're three wide and your angles are off going into the corner and you're trying to clear them, everyone is racing hard."  

Incidents more likely with new package

Despite leading 138 of 200 laps, Logano acknowledged it was easy to make mistakes from behind the wheel. There were nine cautions throughout the race, several triggered by side-by-side racing or when things went awry as drivers ran three-wide. 

“It's a recipe for disaster for sure, but I haven't re‑watched it and haven't seen much, but I thought the race was I think pretty good,” Logano said. “There was a lot of natural cautions out there and a lot of things that happened, and I think that's a good sign. Without watching it, I know it's better than the package we ran here last time, so I'm excited about that.

“There's plenty of times that I went down into a corner and drove in a little bit too hard and chased it up the racetrack and had to work inside the car and really had to manage your tires and which tires you're using and all that. There was more falloff than what there's been here in the past, so I think all that together is good, is directionally correct for racing.”

Having to let off

Logano’s crew chief Todd Gordon agrees. Although Gordon did not receive a breakdown on lap times throughout the race, he acknowledged the differential between the rate of speed the cars ran from the entrance of the turns to the apex of the corners resulted in less on-throttle time and provided teams the opportunity to pass.

“I would say that given lap time and what we saw in practice that we did lose center corner speed, picked up on the straightaway speed a little bit,” Gordon said. “I know in talking to Joey after practice, definitely felt the speed loss, the transition.  

“I think when I was re‑watching the broadcast, we saw like 40 miles an hour from top speed to mid‑corner minimum speed deviation, which is huge compared to what we've been in the past. Definitely made the guys lift a lot, which I think is good for racing.”

Certainly, the style of racing was tailor made for Logano. While there was never a question of if he would win a race, pundits and Logano himself were surprised it took 15 races to reach Victory Lane. 

Among drivers currently in the Chase Zone, only Denny Hamlin (6.4) enjoys a better qualifying effort than Logano’s 8.1. Logano has led laps in 10 of 15 races. Until Sunday, he just didn’t have a win for his efforts. Now, that the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil team has a victory to its credit, Logano considers his Team Penske crew even more of a threat.

“It felt really good to pull our car into victory lane, get that win,” Logano said. “It's nice to be able to know that we're locked into the Chase and we can race even harder than we do now.”

The next test for the 2017 rules package

Logano will be one of 14 drivers participating in a two-day test at Kentucky Speedway on Monday and Tuesday to continue work on the 2017 package. With a newly paved surface and increased banking from 13 to 17-degrees in Turns 1 and 2, NASCAR will have a better understanding what to expect when the Sprint Cup Series returns to the 1.5-mile track in July. 

For Logano, he’s just happy for more seat time in the new car. When asked why he and other drivers savored the wild ride he replied with a laugh, “I don't know how smart we are.”

“I think that thrill, the adrenaline that you get by controlling something that's out of control,” Logano added. “A lot of times being right on that edge of backing it in the fence when we seen it happening in qualifying and you're just right on that edge. 

“I remember after qualifying I was walking into the media center here and I was signing an autograph and my hand was shaking. I couldn't even write my name. That's cool. That's how on edge you have to be to go fast, and it was like that for 400 miles today, you know, that you're just right on that ragged edge, and that's awesome.  

“I don't want to drive slow. That ain't no fun. That's the sport part of this. It should be a challenge. It should be on the edge. It shouldn't be easy, and at this level it definitely isn’t."