Joey Logano’s 2024 Cup Series season hasn’t been going as well as he might have hoped. In the first 11 races, he secured just one top-5 and three top-10 results. With Chevrolets and Toyotas dominating the field thus far, Ford is yet to place a driver in the victory lane. This drought could soon come to an end as the grid travels to Kansas this weekend.
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The 1.5-mile intermediate track in the Sunflower State is one of the younger ones of the schedule. It came into use in 2001 and was revamped to have progressive banking from 17-20 degrees in 2012. Logano has been one of the strongest drivers on it with three victories (2014, 2015, and 2020) so far. He will hope to capture the flag once again and make it his best track ever.
Talking to the press, reported by Ford Performance, about what it would take for a driver to win this weekend, he said that the result would depend a lot on which car was the most versatile on the day. He noted, “You’ve got to have a car that’s versatile enough to run the bottom on restarts and also be versatile enough on the long run to where you can move up or down to make passes.”
“So, the car that can do a lot of different things pretty good is usually the one that is the strongest,” the Team Penske driver concluded. The Next Gen car, he believes, is perfectly suited for the Kansas Speedway. The width of the race track and how the groove has moved around since the repavement are the factors behind his confidence. The upcoming race will be his 30th appearance. He finished in 5th and 6th the last two times he raced there.
Ford dreams of a turnaround in Kansas after lackluster start to 2024 season
Defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney has been Ford’s best driver this year with four top-5 and five top-10 results that have put him at 7th place in the points table. Next to him, in some distance, are Chase Briscoe (12th), Joey Logano (13th), and Chris Buescher (14th). With a combined 15 wins in Kansas over its entire NASCAR journey, the blue oval has reason to hope on Sunday.
Apart from being one of Logano’s best venues, the track is also an optimistic venue for RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski. Though the former champion is atop a 100+ race winless drought, he is riding great momentum with two runner-up finishes in the last three races. In 28 starts at Kansas, he has two wins, seven top-5, and 14 top-10 finishes.
Heading into the race that will officially complete a third of the season, now is as good a time as any for the Dark Horse to finally display its caliber.
