Logano, NASCAR drivers still trying to get a grip on new car

At first blush, it seems like an ordinary week in NASCAR heading into Sunday’s South Point 400 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Joey Logano once again is sitting in a contending position among the Round of 8 drivers still eligible for the championship. And based on his body of work at the 1.5-mile LVMS oval, he once again was made available to the media to talk about it.

But the happy-go-lucky driver of the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford says this is the one NASCAR season where a second blush is as mandatory as safety belts as teams and drivers continue trying to get a grip on the Next Gen car.

“A lot of things have changed since we were there in the spring,” Logano said of the new car design that has produced a record-tying 19 different winners as well as unexplained crashes that have knocked multiple drivers out of the playoffs with concussions, including Las Vegas’ Kurt Busch. “The cars have evolved so much that even reading our notes now, it’s like I don’t know (what to expect).”

Logano laughed at the reality of still not knowing what to expect heading into a race this late in the season, especially one at a place where he normally runs so well.

The 2018 Cup Series champion has won twice at LVMS in 18 starts with 11 top 10s. His average finishing position of 8.9 leads active drivers — even after an uncharacteristic 14th-place effort in the spring race here.

Logano rebounded with wins at Darlington and Worldwide Technology Raceway on the Illinois side of St. Louis and stands second in the playoff standings heading into the three races that will set the four-man battle for the championship in Phoenix on Nov. 6.

“It says a lot about our race team that we’re able to adapt and do a lot of good things,” he said. “But the year we’ve had is not a second-in-points type season. It’s like an eighth- or ninth-place in points with the (lack of) consistency we’ve had. But nobody’s been able to find consistency for a long period of time, if at all.

“For that reason, a 10th- or 12th-place race over and over again puts you in a really good spot.”

As Logano suggested, it’s the same for everybody. So if he’s not as fast as usual when the cars hit the track for a short practice session before qualifying on Saturday, it’s likely he won’t be alone.

“I wouldn’t say we’re not confident,” said Logano, who is coming off finishes of second, 27th and 18th in the Round of 12 races at Texas, Talladega and the Charlotte hybrid road-oval circuit. “Everybody’s probably a little iffy because you’re trying a lot of new (setup) things.

“In the past we’ve had (longer) practice, and you’d work on getting (the car) tuned just right. Now you show up and you’ve got 20 minutes where you can’t change much with your car if it is off. If it is off, you’ve kind of got what you’ve got (for the race).

“It’s just more different this year than it has ever been with the lack of consistency throughout all these race teams with this new car.”

Logano chuckled again. Though he was speaking via cellphone, you could almost see him smiling as he always does — albeit, perhaps, with a little less self-assurance than usual before another 400.5-mile Sunday drive in the desert.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.