Joey Logano has no shortage of success on NASCAR's superspeedways, but he has made it clear that he finds the current style of racing to be very frustrating.
The two-time Cup Series champion made his comments after wrecking out at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon. This race featured the field running four-wide for the majority of the first stage. It provided a wild visual for NASCAR fans, but it didn't satisfy the drivers.
Unbelievable. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/n3ZumZZ4un
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 6, 2024
"I didn't even have fun today," Logano said after exiting the infield care center. "You can't even do anything here. You just get stuck. You're running four-wide and it looks cool, but you're running half-throttle, and then when you want to go and it's time to go, everyone is just stuck two-wide, so there's just not many moves you can make."
Logano's statistics at superspeedways have undergone some noticeable changes over the years. For example, he has one win, eight top-five finishes, and 11 top-10s at Daytona International Speedway. Only two of these top-fives are in the Next Gen era.
The numbers are even more jarring at Talladega. Logano has three wins, nine top-five finishes, and 11 top-10s at Talladega. None of these strong finishes are in the Next Gen era. His best finish at Talladega since 2022 is 19th.
"You just keep trying to re-learn how to run on these superspeedways as it evolves, but the car's got so much drag on it that you can't make moves and make runs happen and cross people up," Logano added. "You're committed to where you are in that line."
The interesting part is that Logano's statistics at the third drafting-style track, Atlanta, are solid. He has two wins since the track underwent its reconfiguration from an intermediate track into a mini-superspeedway.
Logano is not the only person who has made critical comments about the superspeedways on the schedule. Other drivers and some crew chiefs have talked about how the racing has changed to focus more on saving fuel and spending the least amount of time on pit road.
Chris Gabehart, Denny Hamlin's crew chief, told Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut that the Gen 7 era doesn't show greatness on superspeedways like it does at Bristol or other tracks. Instead, it's all about qualifying up front and remaining there.
Going from 18th to first in four laps is simply no longer possible in the Next Gen era.
Talladega needs to be one race a year if that’s how it’s gonna go.
Sorry not sorry.
The days of Earnhardt winning 10 times here because of the speed in his car and skill in the draft don’t exist with this package.
Save fuel crap shoot.
— Brett Griffin (@SpotterBrett) October 7, 2024
"I hate to say that from an old-school racer who has been coming here for about 30 years," said Mike Kelley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s crew chief. "Now that is a different part of the game is understanding fuel mileage and how to spend the least amount of time on pit road.
"We had done that really well I think in the Daytona race earlier, but we got bit by a caution, and that was something we hadn't thought about was saving fuel, saving fuel, saving fuel. Then if the caution comes out and it's in the window, now you're just running 25th, and you're not going to have track position. These places are hard to pass."