Despite Needed Top 10, Logano ‘Sick Of Paying The Price’

Joey Logano (David Rosenblum/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – At last, seven starts into his NASCAR Cup Series title defense, Joey Logano finally broke through for his first top-10 finish of the season Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

However, as has been the standard for the No. 22 Team Penske bunch so far this year, the reigning champion was forced to battle through a multitude of adversities with prevalent speed, leaving him frustrated at the end of the race.

Logano made a statement early by winning his second stage of the season in the opening 80-lap stint around Martinsville’s half-mile ‘paper clip’. After starting seventh and making his first pit stop during the first caution of the afternoon, crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call to keep his driver on track following another yellow with 10 to go, setting them up for the bonus playoff-point.

Serving as the only driver to pit at the end of the first segment, Logano paid the price by restarting 28th at the start the second stage. By the time the next caution flew on lap 123, he had already gained 11 spots, then worked his way back inside the top 10 with 50 to go in the stage before settling for 12th.

The No. 22 team came up clutch, gaining Logano four positions for the final 206 laps of the race. From that point on is where tempers began boiling for the driver from Middletown, Conn.

Racing for ninth with Ty Gibbs right around the halfway point of the Cook Out 400, the eventual 13th-place finisher shoved Logano into the wall down the backstretch, prompting the three-time champion to nudge the No. 54 in an act of displeasure under the next caution.

After cooler heads eventually prevailed, Logano methodically worked his way up to sixth inside of 100 to go with help from his pit crew and some good fortune on a pair of restarts.

Then came a run-in with Ross Chastain.

First, on a restart with 94 to go, Chastain threw an aggressive block in an effort to maintain the fifth spot after getting passed by fourth-place finisher Chase Elliott.

The driver of the No. 1 cut into the bottom lane and slowed in front of a hard-charging Logano, who inadvertently slammed the nose of his Ford Mustang Dark Horse into the rear bumper of the Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

Less than 10 laps later, Chastain threw a comparable block, which caused Chase Briscoe to clip the inside curb in turn two and go into a half-spin, which collected and spun Logano to create the ninth and final caution of the day.

Joey Logano in action Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. (Jacob Seelman/Race Face Digital photo)

Scored 25th with 75 to go, things were suddenly looking status quo for Logano in 2025.

But keeping his composure, Logano replicated a similar rally to his stage two rebound. After 40 laps, he cracked the top 15. With six to go, the reigning champ positioned himself for his 12th consecutive top 10 at Martinsville, ultimately finishing eighth.

“It seems like it’s been a typical 2025,” Logano said. “(We’ll have) a pretty solid car and then something happens. Overall, I feel the guys gave me a really fast Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, one that was possible to win with if we got the track position. We went for that stage win early in the race … I think that was the right call. We got ourselves back in the ballpark there, and the (speed on the) long haul was pretty good.

“It was just a ‘pick them off one at a time’ kind of thing and then Ross just (kept) sticking it in a tight spot. He did it to me on the restart before. I can’t even blame Briscoe for shipping him,” added Logano of Chastain. “I think he got himself in a bind trying to ship him.

“He (Chastain) just races like a jackass every week and I keep paying the price. I’m sick of paying the price.”

Short tempers stemming from Martinsville and the fall-out of a fired-up Logano felt like a nostalgic blast from the past. It’s an ironic, yet perfect, transition into Darlington (S.C.) Raceway’s throwback weekend.

Logano will have a great shot at getting back to his winning ways, as he dons a 1976 Cale Yarborough livery at Darlington reminiscent of Yarborough’s iconic Holly Farms colors while driving for Junior Johnson.

Not only did Logano win the first race at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped track in the seventh-generation car back in 2022, he’s also tied for the second-best average finish (10.7) through six Next Gen starts there.

Find out if Logano can keep momentum rolling in the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.