Penske drivers expect 'crazy' battle for final championship spots at Martinsville

Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney believe Sunday’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway will be quite the battle to settle who competes for the championship.

“You get to this round of the playoffs and everybody is good,” Logano said. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s supposed to be. You have the most solid teams in the Round of 8, and it’s a heavyweight fight right to the end here. 

“A bunch of dogs [are] out there trying to make it happen. It’s going to be an exciting race. It’s going to be something to watch, that’s for sure.”

Logano is the reigning series champion. He and the No. 22 team are sixth on the playoff grid in a 38-point deficit.

Penske enters the weekend having won the last two elimination races at Martinsville with Blaney.

“It’s been a good track for us,” Logano said. “There’s no doubt it’s been a good track. I look at anybody in the position that we’re in right now – those bottom four cars, everyone’s got to win, and everyone has done it here. That’s the crazy part, everybody is good here, and that’s what it is.”

Blaney, the 2023 series champion, sits behind his teammate on the playoff grid in a 47-point deficit. Those ahead of Blaney are Logano, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. It is a one-point deficit between Bell and Larson to avoid the bubble and the danger of elimination should Logano, Blaney or another driver on the outside win the race.

“Gosh, last year was an awesome finish of the race between me, Chase [Elliott] and Kyle [Larson],” Blaney said. “Three guys under a blanket duking it out, and we were able to come out on top. I expect the same thing – hard racing all the way through and fairly clean racing, you hope. There’s going to be contact, but you just hope it doesn’t turn into a cluster like we’ve seen here in the past. I think we’ve been doing it the right way and the way Martinsville is supposed to be raced. 

“You know you’re in for a battle. It’s going to be a crazy one tomorrow. Four guys [have to] win. Two guys kind of having their own little points deal going on and battling not to be the bottom seed in case one of us do win, so it’ll be a wild day and hopefully we’re in the mix. That’s all you can ask for.”

Team Penske has won the last three straight Cup Series championships with Logano and Blaney. The last time a Penske driver failed to make the Championship 4 was in 2021.