This NASCAR season marks the return of the The Chase format, a shift that insiders say Joey Logano is unusually prepared to handle. However, questions linger about whether Logano’s No. 22 Ford team at Team Penske can maintain consistent top-tier performance in the coming years, especially with internal challenges within the organization.
Analyzing the Internal Struggles Within Team Penske
Experts Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi recently discussed the performance disparities at Team Penske in an episode of The Teardown. Gluck highlighted Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe’s ability to adapt effectively to the new playoff structure, noting their strong preparation and knack for maximizing results even without the fastest car on the track.
I think Logano will do a better job adjusting to this new format than people realize,
Gluck said.
They’ll go to work. They’ll maximize what they can.
Despite this optimism, Gluck refrained from branding Logano as a leading championship contender. He pointed out that for genuine title threats, Team Penske must improve its overall consistency to rival established powerhouses like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Bianchi echoed these concerns, pointing out a notable disparity within Penske between Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 team and the rest of the lineup.
There’s such a disconnect between what the No. 12 team is able to do most weeks and what their teammates are able to do,
he remarked.
Why does that gulf exist? Who knows?
Logano’s Recent Performance and the Road Ahead
Bianchi expects Logano to secure race wins and comfortably reach the playoffs, but doubts he will dominate consistently. Logano’s finishes—15.3 in 2025, 17.1 in 2024, and 14.9 in 2023 on average—indicate solid, steady work rather than overwhelming dominance over competitors.
That’s not going to cut it,
Bianchi stated directly.
You need to be top five and top 10 on a regular basis,
a standard Logano has yet to consistently meet.
Still, Logano’s record is impressive. At 35, he came seventh in the 2025 standings despite only one victory and has finished in the top 10 of the season’s final rankings seven times within the past eight years. He earned his most recent championship in 2024 and now heads into 2026 aiming for a fourth career title under the revamped playoff format, which places greater emphasis on season-long consistency.
Logano’s Focus Remains on Results, Not Format
The driver himself has expressed that changes in the playoff rules do not worry him.
Just tell me the rules, Logano said earlier.
And then we gotta go figure out a way to win.
With 37 career wins, including a Daytona 500 victory, and over 600 Cup Series starts, Logano’s credentials are beyond question. Yet the primary obstacle for 2026 appears to be whether Team Penske can close the internal gaps and boost organizational consistency to convert reliability into genuine title contention for the No. 22 team.
