Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano came into Martinsville desperate for a turnaround. The season had not been kind to the Team Penske driver, who hadn’t cracked the top 10 in six straight races. For a driver of his caliber, it was becoming a rather uncomfortable statistic.
Early on Sunday, it looked like his luck might finally be changing. Smart pit strategy put Logano at the front, where he led 13 laps and won Stage 1—just his second stage victory of the season. He wasn’t the fastest car on the track, but he was hanging tough, running inside the top 10 and seemingly on his way to breaking his streak of mediocrity.
Then lap 318 happened.
Chase Briscoe, caught in the latest chapter of Ross Chastain’s perpetual highlight reel, got squeezed down into the curb and bounced back up into Logano’s No. 22 Ford, sending him for a spin. Just like that, what had looked like a solid day turned into another test of patience.
But Logano isn’t one to roll over. Restarting 25th with the freshest tires in the field, he went into full damage control mode. With surgical precision, he picked his way through the chaos, passing car after car in the final 75 laps. By the time the checkered flag fell, he had clawed his way back to eighth—far from ideal, but a hard-earned top 10 nonetheless.
Logano, however, was far from satisfied.
“It seems like it’s been a typical 2025. A pretty solid car and then something happens,” Logano said. “We went for that stage win early in the race in Stage 1. I think that was the right call. We got ourselves back in the ballpark there and the long haul was pretty good.
“It was just kind of like a pick them off one at a time kind of thing and then Ross just sticking it in a tight spot. He did it to me on the restart before. I can’t even blame Briscoe for shipping him. I think he got himself in a bind trying to ship him. He just races like a jackass every week and I keep paying the price. I’m sick of paying the price.”
Chastain, as if on cue, finished sixth, seemingly unfazed by yet another disgruntled competitor. As for Logano, there was no interest in a post-race heart-to-heart.
Is there anything to say to him? “Not at the moment. Nothing good.”
While eighth place wasn’t the result Logano had hoped for, it was a much-needed step in the right direction. Now, the question is whether this was the start of a resurgence—or just another bump in an already rocky season.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.