HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Workforce Penske is battling its personal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome.
By way of Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the sixth race of the 2025 marketing campaign, no person has led extra laps than its trio of drivers — Joey Logano (247 laps led), Austin Cindric (159) and Ryan Blaney (148). All three rank inside the highest 5 in stage factors this season and sit throughout the prime 10 of the sequence’ finest common working positions, in response to NASCAR’s loop information.
And but not one of the three have the constant outcomes to again up their obvious dominance within the races’ early and center parts. Cindric’s 17.5 common end is better of the bunch forward of Logano’s 18.8 and Blaney’s 21.5; Logano remains to be looking for his first prime 10 simply six races faraway from his 2024 Cup Sequence championship; and Blaney has failed to complete every of the final three races — two on account of engine failure, which bit him once more at Homestead after main a race-high 124 laps and successful Stage 1.
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In consequence, Ryan Blaney is Workforce Penske’s highest-ranking driver in factors at tenth, Logano eleventh and Cindric twenty first after a 50-point stemming from the March 2 occasion at Circuit of The Americas.
Travis Geisler, Workforce Penske’s vp of competitors, weighs the nice with the unhealthy. However his disappointment was evident within the NASCAR Cup Sequence storage following Sunday’s race. Logano was the crew’s finest finisher in 14th place, forward of Cindric in nineteenth; Blaney’s blown engine relegated him to a Thirty sixth-place end. Josh Berry’s No. 21 Wooden Brothers Racing Ford is constructed, assembled and supported by Workforce Penske, however one week after incomes his first Cup win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a second-place qualifying effort at Homestead went for naught when he, Logano and Kyle Larson after the conclusion of Stage 1. Berry mustered a Seventeenth-place end.
“It’s clearly irritating to be in a scenario the place we’ve had actually good vehicles which are able to successful each week and simply haven’t actually been capable of execute and get it carried out,” Geisler informed NASCAR.com. “However I believe the secret is the method is working so far as what we’re bringing to the race observe. That’s the toughest a part of this sport, is discovering pace. And proper now, I believe all of the groups are doing that. We’ve simply bought to execute on all the opposite sides of the sport.”
Logano’s day was equally unraveled by the early pit-road contact. Whereas Logano’s lack of observe place after the incident was a hinderance, the crew’s preliminary tape utility to restore Logano’s right-front fender injury did them no favors, crew chief Paul Wolfe defined.
“After we had the injury, we coated over the hood flap,” Wolfe informed NASCAR.com. “In order that was why, after we had been attempting to get well from the problem on that green-flag cease, we needed to reduce it open. In order that’s how we misplaced the lap and all that. Simply stored snowballing for a minute. Happily, the automobile was good on the lengthy haul, and we had been capable of get again into the (free move) spot because the leaders had been placing guys a lap down. We had been coming alongside there fairly good, after which from there, simply had a good automobile that we may salvage one thing out of it. Only a tough day.”
Wolfe has guided the No. 22 crew to championships in two of the final three seasons, the lone exception coming in 2023 when Blaney soared to his first title. The finishes aren’t touchdown for Logano and Co. but, however Wolfe isn’t able to hit the panic button.
“I believe for those who look again at the moment final 12 months, we didn’t have the pace or the outcomes. So I suppose the brilliant facet of it’s we’ve got pace,” Wolfe mentioned. “I believe how we ended the season final 12 months, we’ve been capable of come out of the gates this 12 months and nonetheless carry that pace that we had been capable of present on the finish of final season, so I believe that’s a optimistic. And now it’s simply persevering with to refine it.
“Talking for the 22 group particularly, there’s numerous expertise right here, and we’ve proven how we’re capable of execute and do the issues we have to do. So it’s unlucky, however probably not any cause to be involved. Optimistic about having the ability to have the pace and (it’s a) significantly better spot than what we had been beginning season final 12 months.”
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From the 30,000-foot perspective, nevertheless, Geisler is eager to clean out the early-season bumps earlier than later.
“Stuff on pit street, you’ve simply bought to return and assessment,” he mentioned. “Was there something we will do to keep away from it? What are the issues as our regular course of can we modify and attempt to get ourselves the place we end the place we belong? That’s actually the important thing proper now. I believe we’d be in actually good condition if we simply completed the place we belong.”
Blaney had by no means failed to complete three consecutive Cup races till Homestead marked the unlucky milestone. Earlier than the , Blaney’s final engine-related DNF was at Texas Motor Speedway in 2019 when he was sidelined for an overheating motor. Six years later, in two of the final three races, his engine has gone up in smoke. This time, on the frontstretch, leaving a cloud of smoke over the onlooking followers at Homestead-Miami.
Geisler mentioned the crew will pore over information to make sure nothing on its or Blaney’s finish — like shifting, over-revving or overheating — contributed to the latest points, and he indicated no indicators of these have proven but.
“From there, you’ve simply bought to lean on Roush Yates (Engines) and Ford to repair the issue,” Geisler mentioned. “Now we have numerous issues that we have to repair from this weekend, and we’ve bought to outsource that one and let any individual else deal with it and have the belief that, over time, they’ve given us extremely dependable engines and actually have delivered for us. And so they’ve simply bought to go the drafting board a bit bit right here and work out what’s happening. I believe it seems to be like a pair totally different modes of failure right here, I’d say. So possibly there’s not essentially a transparent route, however that’s as much as them.”
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Within the meantime, ending on the entrance is a prime precedence for Workforce Penske shifting ahead. Up subsequent is Martinsville Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the place Blaney has received every of the final two fall races.
Maybe there can be added fireplace fueled by the early frustration that can assist their outcomes higher replicate their efficiency.
“We’ve bought to look internally at what we didn’t do effectively (Sunday),” Geisler mentioned. “We had three different vehicles, for those who embrace the 21, that ought to have been capable of run prime 10, and we didn’t get there with any of them. In order that’s our job. That’s what we’ll go concentrate on (Monday). Martinsville is one other strong place for us, so hopefully, we will go there and get issues rotated.”
