Logano and team fumble their way into must-win situation

However, with Joey Logano’s encumbered, win there are still three openings to fill in the Playoff grid. 

If there are no more new winners in the next five races, with the No. 22 Team Penske car mired at 13th in the standings, Logano would not transfer into the playoffs for the first time since he joined the organization in 2013. 

Logano qualified 10th at Pocono. However, a lug nut stuck in an airgun early in the race, combined with a speeding penalty and a second infraction for changing tires during the drive-thru after the tires were flat-spotted, set up for a 27th-place finish. For a team on the edge, Sunday’s performance was not what Logano had hoped for. 

Since Logano’s win at Richmond — which was deemed encumbered due to the rear-end housing being off on the No. 22 Ford — he’s had an average finish of 22nd. He lost 25 points (he currently has 525) and his crew chief Todd Gordon for two races. 

Still, Gordon remains optimistic, since Logano has scored seven wins at four of the next five race tracks before the cut-off at Richmond where the team won in the spring.

“We’re going to have to win one of the next five races,” Gordon said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday. “As you look forward to the race tracks coming up for the 22 team, they’re great race tracks for us. We finished first and second at Watkins Glen the last two years. We get to go to Michigan after that where we’ve won twice. It’s been a really strong race track for us. Bristol, we’ve won the night race twice. So I think the night race is better for us than the Bristol spring race. We won Richmond in the spring and Darlington has been a good race track for us. 

“I feel like, ‘Yes, we do need to win to go forward.’ I don’t think we need to swing for the fences because I think you have to put yourself in the right positions but you can’t do stupid things to try and get there. We’ve got to find a little more speed in the race cars and I think that’s been a consistent need for us. I think we’ve found some, but I don’t think we’ve found enough. We have to keep working harder on that and put ourselves in positions. If we can get to the point where Joey can see it on the last restart, I have all the confidence in the world that I wouldn’t put anybody else in the seat to close it out and get it done.”

Who is Logano’s top competition for transfer spot in the Playoffs? Here’s how the top-five remaining winless drivers stack up in the standings:

Chase Elliott (seventh-place, 616 points) — Elliott has been very consistent in 2017. He’s improved his average qualifying and finishes over his rookie year. Elliott has 12 top 10 finishes — the same as Kyle Larson. Only Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski have more with 14. The stark difference between Elliott and the above mentioned drivers is his two play-off points and his 173 laps led. Since April, the No. 24 Chevy has held the point for only four laps. Elliott received a blow at Indy when his engine blew after 43 laps. He finished 39th but recovered on Sunday with a 10th-place finish — the best of the Hendrick cars. Elliott is still looking for his first Cup win. His best shot has to be Michigan where he’s finished second in all three Cup starts. He also enjoys an 8.7 average finish at Bristol. While he’s won Xfinity races at both Darlington and Richmond, Elliott’s worst average finishes have come at those tracks. 

Jamie McMurray (eighth-place, 615 points) — McMurray has been overshadowed by his Ganassi Racing teammate Larson this season. The only categories McMurray tops Larson in is his average qualifying effort of eighth — third on the tour behind Truex (7.2) and Kyle Busch (7.7) and his 17 lead lap finishes (the No. 42 team has 16). Although McMurray has been solid in qualifying, he’s yet to earn a pole, has led just 16 laps and only has two top-five finishes. McMurray is the only driver in the top 15 without playoff points. The 39-year-old driver has no wins at the five remaining tracks, however, he finished fifth at Michigan in June and sixth at Richmond in April. 

Matt Kenseth (ninth-place, 594 points) — Kenseth’s lame duck status shouldn’t effect the No. 20 team’s ability to qualify for the playoffs. Given his track record of transferring to 12 of 13 previous playoffs, Kenseth has the experience — and the equipment to make things happen. Kenseth ranks ninth in laps led (223) in Cup races, but his average finish of 15.8 is the worst among the top 10 drivers. He’s collected just two playoff points. Kenseth has 10 wins at four of the next five tracks. In 17 starts at Watkins Glen, he has one top-five finish (2015) and has led just three laps. 

Clint Bowyer (10th-place, 577 points) — Bowyer has been running at the finish of 19 of 21 races. He also has 17 lead-lap finishes — Kevin Harvick has more (18). Like Kenseth, his nine top-10 finishes rank at the bottom of the top 10 drivers. Unlike Kenseth, Bowyer has led from 22 laps in 2017 — including five on Sunday en route to his first stage win. Of the five tracks to decide the playoff qualifiers, Bowyer has only won at Richmond. His second victory at the .75-mile track came in the 2012 qualifier. He finished 15th there in the spring. Of his three second-place finishes in 2017, his first came at Bristol in April.  

Erik Jones (16th, 469 points) — Jones has tremendous speed. He leads the three drivers in the rookie class of 2017 in the standings and laps led (45). He’s the only freshman with a top-five finish. However, Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon have Jones beat with running at the finish of races and lead lap finishes. Suarez also tops his Toyota teammate with seven top 10s. What has hurt Jones’ statistics is his six DNFs due to wrecks. Once Jones finds the balance, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.