The balance of power may have shifted at Kansas Speedway

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS - SEPTEMBER 10: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, sits in his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 10, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

When the NASCAR Cup Series visited Kansas Speedway on May 15, Toyota drivers dominated. Kurt Busch won the race, and Camrys occupied five of the top six finishing positions.

The top Ford in that race, driven by Austin Cindric, came home 11th, but Joey Logano , Cindric’s teammate at Team Penske, expects the results to be different in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, the second race in the Cup Series Playoffs.

“So many things have changed since we were here the last time,” Logano said before Saturday’s practice at Kansas. “It was fairly early in the year. We all were still learning about the cars a lot. Left-rear tires were blowing out as teams were learning what they can and can’t do with the Goodyear tire.

“I think everyone’s kind of figuring those things out. Coming back with a brand new car, it’s going to be quite a bit different than it was the first time because there’s still low-hanging fruit with this car, as we’re trying to develop and figure it out.”

As the cars have evolved, so have the tires. Goodyear is providing different right- and left-side tire codes from the combination NASCAR Cup drivers ran at Kansas in May.

“We obviously started 2022 with a new car, and all those involved in the sport have learned a lot over the ensuing months,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “The loads generated on this Next Gen car are quite different than the past, so we evaluated what we saw early in the season and designed some construction updates that we were able to test on track before we unveiled the right-side enhancements at the Pocono and Michigan races earlier this summer.”

Logano acknowledged the new tire combination is a wild card entering the Kansas race.

“We’re all guessing,” he said. “Without being out there on the race track, you’re kind of guessing how big an effect it’s going to have and at what parts of the corners do we think that’s going to affect the car the most. And then you try to adjust to it.”