CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joey Logano wore his trademark grin last week while making the rounds at NASCAR Media Tour Presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He can smile now. A fresh season looms ahead, and with it, an opportunity for the Team Penske No. 22 Ford camp to erase a frustrating 2017 campaign that saw a drop from Championship 4 in 2016 to out of the playoffs.
“I didn’t see that coming at all,” Logano said. “After you almost win the championship and win a bunch of races the last four years before that, you think making the playoffs is kind of a given. That is kind of the way I thought. I would say it blindsided every one of us.”
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Logano and the No. 22 team had gotten into a groove since 2014, logging 14 wins during the three-year period prior to the 2017 season. That stretch included a staggering 22 top-five finishes in 2015, and two trips to the Championship 4 in Homestead-Miami.
So, what happened?
Well, the team won at Richmond in April but had the finish ruled encumbered. That meant it could not be used to automatically advance into the playoffs.
As first-time winners Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reached Victory Lane, Logano was pushed further down the standings, ultimately finding himself out of the playoff picture.
“Yeah, we never want to have that feeling again,” he said. “That sucks. Not being in the playoffs is no fun. I think after going through that and living that horror film, you don’t want to do that again. There is plenty of motivation to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
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The key in 2018? Being open to change, Logano said.
“Last year was a trying year. We learned a lot,” Logano said. “The biggest thing we learned was to be able to be a little more open-minded about things. We started to be open-minded at the end of the season. We probably waited a little too long. When you find something that works for you and you are able to keep evolving off of that foundation that you built that works and you keep building off of something and then the rules change and things change and then all of a sudden that doesn’t work anymore, it is really hard to just knock over what you built and start all over.
“It is very challenging to get yourself to think that openly. As a driver, I have had to change. (Crew chief) Todd (Gordon) has had to change. The way we set up our cars has had to change. The sport changes. It evolves and you have to evolve with it and we are a little late to the game.”
As for the on-track performance to come, Logano thinks it will mirror that memorable 2014-16 stretch in which he emerged as one of the most prolific drivers in the garage.
“I think we will go out there and redeem ourselves,” he said. “There is a little extra motivation there. We know we are a championship team. Nothing has changed from two years ago when we almost won the championship. It is the same group. Nothing has changed. We know we can still do that. Let’s go. Is Daytona here yet?”
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