Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service

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Roles are Different this Year for Penske Teammates

Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Last year, Joey Logano did all he could at Talladega Superspeedway to help Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski advance to the Chase’s Round of 8.

Then again, last year Logano was in a position to do so, given that he had won the first two races in the Round of 12. And with his help, Keselowski advanced to the penultimate round with a fourth-place finish.

But in the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday, both Logano and Keselowski will be fighting for their Chase lives. Heading into the Round of 12 cutoff race, Logano is tied for eighth, the final transfer position. After wrecking out of last Sunday’s Kansas race in 38th place, Keselowski is 11th in the Chase standings, seven points behind Logano and Austin Dillon. Continue reading

Elliott has his Marching Orders for Talladega

Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

After disastrous results in the first two races of the Chase’s Round of 12, Chase Elliott will be on a win-or-bust mission next Sunday at Talladega.

It’s not that Elliott has run poorly. At Charlotte, he led 103 laps before being swept up in a late wreck not of his making.

In Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, he passed eventual race winner Kevin Harvick for the lead on lap 169, only to see his winning chances disintegrate six laps later when he returned to pit road for an unscheduled stop after a tire rub flattened his left rear. Continue reading

Logano Atones for Charlotte Catastrophe

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, signs autographs for fans prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 16, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, signs autographs for fans prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 16, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Joey Logano got the absolute most from his No. 22 Team Penske Ford on Sunday, and, as was the case with Austin Dillon, a strong run at Kansas put Logano in position to advance in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a solid performance next Sunday at Talladega.

Logano didn’t have a car to compete for the win on Sunday, but he ran third behind Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards to ameliorate the effects of a 36th-place finish at Charlotte a week earlier. Logano goes to Talladega tied for the last transfer spot with the Chase field to be cut there from 12 drivers to eight. Continue reading

This time, a Two-Tire Call Pays Off for Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon, driver of the #2 Ruud Chevrolet, walks through the garage area during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Jeff Curry/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #2 Ruud Chevrolet, walks through the garage area during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Jeff Curry/Getty Images

On Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Austin Dillon disproved the colloquial definition of insanity—trying the same thing and expecting different results.

Last week at Charlotte, Dillon took two tires on a late pit stop and wrecked when Martin Truex Jr.’s attempt to push him on a restart went awry.

But late in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas, there was Dillon again, taking two tires and taking the lead for a restart on lap 226. Continue reading