Team Penske endured a frustrating afternoon during the Talladega Superspeedway YellaWood 500, jeopardizing their playoff prospects as drivers Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano all suffered setbacks. This Team Penske Talladega race report details how each contender’s bid for postseason advancement was hindered by early accidents, missed opportunities, and late-race incidents on Sunday.
Rough Day for Austin Cindric After Early Accident
Austin Cindric began his race with promise, lining up fourth after a strong qualifying effort in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The opening laps saw Cindric slip just outside the top ten, and with the field splitting into two groups, he tried to stay competitive amid changing fuel strategies. Around ten laps shy of the end of Stage 1, Cindric pitted for fuel-only—but almost immediately, he was swept up in a major multi-car crash, badly damaging his car. After the team worked extensively in the garage, Cindric managed to return to the track with just over 15 laps remaining and nursed the car to a 34th-place finish.
“It’s unfortunate to have gotten caught up in that incident there before the end of Stage 1. We went through the first cycle and it didn’t work out for us, I thought we did the right stuff there to get some Stage points, that’s our priority. Yeah, so then it was just seeing whether we could get it fixed enough to go back out or not, but we had a steering rack issue so I couldn’t drive it out and had to get towed back to the garage. The Discount Tire team did a great job with damage repair to get us back out there towards the end of the race.”
— Austin Cindric, Driver
For Cindric, the steep fall from a promising start to a 34th-place finish cost valuable playoff points, leaving his team in a precarious position moving forward.
Ryan Blaney Battles Through the Pack, Falls Short
Ryan Blaney, piloting the No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse, started from the eighth position and initially dropped back, only to climb inside the top ten before the pit cycle began. A strategic fuel stop allowed Blaney to mix among the leaders, and he skillfully avoided a multi-car wreck to secure a fourth-place finish in Stage 1. The second segment saw him restart mid-pack but quickly surge forward alongside teammate Joey Logano, forming a powerful drafting line and picking up positions rapidly.
During a scheduled green-flag pit stop at lap 109, a spin by the No. 88 car at pit entry brought out the caution just as Blaney was leaving pit road, creating a scramble for track position. Blaney managed to finish Stage 2 in eighth. Later, following a late caution on lap 165, crew chief Jonathan Hassler called for a fuel-only pit stop, placing Blaney at the front with 17 laps to go. Despite the advantage, he was unable to maintain position in the hectic, three-wide racing. A final caution set up an overtime finish, and after a last pit stop, Blaney was only able to take 23rd at the checkered flag. Heading into Martinsville, he sits seventh in playoff points, 47 markers below the elimination threshold.
“Not the finish we wanted. We didn’t do what we needed to do and we didn’t get help when we needed it. Now we have to go win next week.”
— Ryan Blaney, Driver
For Blaney, previous strong performances at Martinsville leave a slim window of hope, but his margin for error is now nearly nonexistent.
Joey Logano Leads Laps but Finishes Outside the Top Ten
Joey Logano entered the Talladega race seeking to gain ground on the playoff cut line, starting 16th in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Demonstrating commanding speed, Logano hustled to the front in just three laps and maintained solid track position. His team’s strategy during the initial pit cycles put him in a favorable spot, and late in Stage 1, he capitalized on chaos ahead to take the lead, ultimately finishing sixth in the opening stage.
A mid-race shuffle alongside Ryan Blaney allowed Logano to rapidly gain positions, displaying the teamwork between the drivers. However, a caution after a green flag pit stop forced Logano to shuffle back, resulting in a finish of 18th for Stage 2. Later, a fuel-only pit stop put Logano back near the front, but repeated three-wide racing and another caution with 17 laps to go meant he could not regain the lead. An overtime restart offered one more chance, but Logano, after pitting for fuel, lacked the draft momentum to reach the front, crossing the line 16th. He enters the pivotal Martinsville race 38 points from the cutoff, making victory all but essential.
“It’s pretty apparent the second we lost control of the race. Cars were pulling in front of us and we were just getting demoted from the first two cars in line to the back of the line. Martinsville’s not a bad track for us. We just have a simple point of view at this point, it’s all or nothing. Stage points aren’t going to matter. Nothing else is going to matter but winning.”
— Joey Logano, Driver
For Logano and his No. 22 squad, control of the race slipped away at a critical moment, setting up a high-pressure must-win scenario when they return to Martinsville.
Martinsville: The Final Shot at Playoff Redemption
With Team Penske drivers now sitting sixth, seventh, and 14th in the standings after Talladega, the stakes have never been higher for the trio as they prepare for the Martinsville Speedway showdown in the NASCAR Cup Series. The finale of the Round of 8, the Xfinity 500, airs Sunday, October 26. Only a win—or a miraculous points swing—can keep Team Penske’s title hopes alive, raising the pressure on Cindric, Blaney, and Logano to deliver dramatic performances. All eyes will be on their strategies, as past winners like Blaney and persistent playoff threats loom alongside unpredictable Martinsville racing dynamics.
