Team Penske finds crucial 1.5-mile speed, lands two Chasers in Kansas top five

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Questions surrounded Team Penske on intermediate tracks entering Kansas Speedway. By the time Sunday’s race ended, the organization had provided some answers. With Saturday’s qualifying session getting canceled due to inclement weather, the three Penske cars were spread across the grid when the green flag waved for the Hollywood Casino 400. Joey Logano started from pole position and hovered inside the top five for the opening stage. Meanwhile, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney rallied from outside the top 10 to both earn stage points, Cindric leading the way with a third-place Stage 1 finish. As the 267-lapper progressed, it was apparent that Cindric had one of the best long-run entries in the field. He ended the race with a 3.39 average running position, his best in 181 career Cup starts. RELATED: Race results | At-track photos “Thought we had one of the better long-run speed cars that we’ve had, which is great because I think we had that most of the day,” a pleased Cindric said following a runner-up effort, .565 seconds shy of race winner Kyle Larson. Cindric was primarily bummed that he couldn’t break through to Victory Lane, knowing he had contending speed. He considered Kansas to be among the best intermediate races of his Cup career. “It’s frustrating to feel like you had a car that could win the race or at least contended -- and don’t,” Cindric stated. “I guess that’s being hard on myself, but otherwise, really great day and super proud of everyone on the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford. It doesn’t happen without a full effort. It was fun to race some of those guys and show what we’re made of today.” Blaney steadily worked his way forward throughout the race, climbing from 25th -- the lowest starting spot among the 16 Chase drivers. Like his younger teammate, the 2023 Cup champion chipped away at the deficit over long green-flag runs. As Larson and Chase Briscoe traded the lead in the closing laps, Blaney continued to close the gap. He passed Christopher Bell on the final lap to secure fifth, earning his first top-five finish at a 1.5-mile track since the spring Kansas race in 2025. “We got a little bit better throughout the day, and the last two runs were our best two,” Blaney acknowledged. “I would have loved about seven or eight more laps -- I might have actually won. We were taking chunks out of it: five-, six-, seven-tenths over the last handful of laps. Good effort. “Makes us look forward to Vegas and Charlotte. Hopefully, we gained on it a little bit and just keep fighting our way back into it.” [caption id="attachment_527310" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images[/caption] Logano was battling Brad Keselowski for 12th position with three laps remaining when the right-front tire on his No. 22 Ford gave way. The three-time Cup titlist fell to 20th by the checkered flag, his worst finish since Sonoma Raceway three months earlier. Logano has already conquered Las Vegas four times, while Blaney and Cindric are still searching for their first victories at the 1.5-mile track. But with all three Penske Fords showing potential at Kansas, the organization heads to Sin City with reason for optimism. “It bodes very well,” Cindric said with a sly smile. “This was a big stretch for us, understanding that mile-and-a-halves were places where we really needed to improve on as a company,” Blaney added. “Props to everyone at Team Penske who has worked hard and got us better at these places. Hopefully, it continues to carry over the next couple of weeks.” Yet with Larson posting a maximum 76-point day, all three Penske drivers lost significant ground to the championship leader. Cindric scored the second-most points Sunday with 52. Blaney’s charge to fifth in the race and championship standings netted him 37 points, leaving him 39 points behind Larson on the day and 91 markers back overall. Logano dropped to fourth in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 standings but remains the leader of the Penske contingent, 67 points behind Larson after surrendering 51 points to the No. 5 driver at Kansas. Blaney knows Penske will need to elevate its game even further with the season winding down rapidly. “We have to step it up and go win two or three races to close the gap back up,” he added. “We still have six more of them, we’ve just got to go for more.” Before The Chase began, Blaney said he likely needed to win three races to give himself a shot at the championship. Now, with the margin for error shrinking, his message was simple: “I better get on it. I’m running out of races.”