Joey Logano Is Cautiously Optimistic Heading Into Talladega
Joey Logano is heading into the Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway below the cutoff line to advance into the Championship 4 round of the NASCAR Playoffs, but he is not dwelling too much on that fact.
Logano’s chances of winning this weekend are pretty high, as he has been to Victory Lane three times at the 2.66-mile track and has completed 94% of the laps he's run at the track, and led 533 laps in 33 starts. The odds are on the Team Penske driver’s side.
But anything can happen, and Logano is well aware of that.
“Cautiously optimistic, is where we are at” Logano said of how he feels heading into Talladega. “It’s been a good track for us. We’ve led a lot of laps, won a lot of stages, won a few races here. With that said, it’s also gone the complete opposite here, but I’m sure that’s the same for everybody in the field at some point here in Talladega.
“ I feel confident in our ability and what we can do as a team, and I think we’re very ready for the race from that standpoint. I feel like we’re the favorites to win this thing, but all it takes is one mistake or a mistake from someone else’s part and all of the sudden you’re spun around and backwards. It happens really quick here, so like I said, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic.”
Logano is seventh in the standings, 24 points out, with only one additional race after Talladega to secure his way into the final round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. In some ways, one could see that as a must-win situation, but not Logano.
“I think if it wasn’t Talladega, maybe I would say it’s a must-win, but I still think there’s two avenues to get there. Obviously the most simple way is just winning, but considering what Talladega is and how this race can play out, I still think we can point our way in.”
“I don’t want to completely cut that off yet. There’s a chance. Now if you’re 24 points out going into Martinsville, you’re probably a must-win at that point. There’s still two races and one of them is a race track like Talladega.”
Logano has become proficient in a successful strategy that is required to conquer a place like Talladega, where the results aren’t all luck or all skill. To accompany his three wins, the driver of the No. 22 Ford has nine top fives and 11 top-10 finishes.
What does he feel like he needs to do on Sunday to add to that and continue his championship run?
Acquire stage points.
“I don’t see why you wouldn't go for the points.” Logano said of his strategy. “We gotta go for the points in our position. There might be some cars that don’t need to go for the points, they're in different positions. You kinda gotta know what your competitor’s goals are when you get to the race track, especially here.
“For us it’s pretty obvious we need to get the stage points. In my mind I think we gotta top five every stage and top five both races, so four stages in two races, to have a chance to point in.”
When asked for his opinion about Talladega being in the Round of 8, Logano replied in his typical straightforward way, “It is what it is. That’s how I look at things. My job is to win the race, and whatever that looks like and whatever that takes to get to that point. That’s what we got to do." He continued bluntly, "I can tell you one thing, that sitting here and complaining about whatever it may be is not going to help us win the race no matter what regardless of the subject. Sure, we all have opinions but at this point it is what it is and I feel good about it. We got to go out there and try to win it all, right?”
Logano will start in the 16th position on Sunday. You can watch on your local NBC affiliate at 2 p.m. ET and listen on MRN Radio.
Reviewed by Courtney Horn
on
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Rating:
