Joey Logano, after missing out on defending his NASCAR title in the 2025 season, openly addressed the shortcomings of Team Penske, emphasizing the need to acknowledge and fix their weaknesses before the next year. Speaking publicly as Penske ended its championship winning streak, Logano put the focus on evaluating Team Penske weaknesses to avoid repeating this season’s results.
Logano and Team Penske Face Championship Setback
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series proved challenging for Team Penske, which saw its run of championships from 2022 to 2024 halted. Joey Logano, a three-time series champion, along with his teammate Ryan Blaney, advanced to the Round of 8 for the second consecutive year. Austin Cindric, the team’s third driver, secured a playoff berth but ultimately finished 14th in the standings, demonstrating inconsistency within the group.
Addressing media ahead of the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Logano did not shy away from discussing the issues that affected Team Penske this year. He admitted that their strategies and preparations did not meet expectations, calling for a thorough reassessment to regain their edge in future competitions.
“I think it’s important to take a second and take a breather. You’ve got to do something different because what we did wasn’t good enough, so you can’t do the same thing and expect a different outcome. We have to look to do some different things, and how can we approach things differently. How do we approach race weekend? What do we have to do to be faster on the race track?” the 2024 NASCAR champion said (via NASCAR.com).
“We weren’t good enough, so we have to identify those weaknesses and figure out what to do to change those, and that will happen really quickly,” he added.
Logano Evaluates Disappointing 2025 Season
As the driver of the #22 Ford, Joey Logano processed the 2025 campaign with clear disappointment, conceding that Team Penske did not reach its championship goal. However, Logano also noted there were flashes of strength amid the setbacks, signaling that not all aspects of the season were failures.
“Obviously not everything we hoped for. Our goal is to win the championship every year and we fell short of that. Our goals are really high. By the same token, I feel like there were moments of the year we looked really strong. There were moments of the year where we didn’t capitalize on opportunities to win that we could have” Logano said, as quoted by NASCAR.com.
The conclusion of this season marked a significant shift in the championship landscape for Roger Penske’s organization. Historical dominance gave way as Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports took third place at Phoenix, solidifying Hendrick’s ascent while Team Penske fell short.
Implications for Team Penske and the Upcoming 2026 Season
Logano’s candid comments and willingness to address Team Penske weaknesses suggest a major reset for the championship-winning group. With fellow contenders like Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric facing similar struggles, and with Roger Penske’s standards set high, the entire team is expected to undergo a hard look at its strategies and race execution.
As the 2026 season approaches, expectations remain elevated for Team Penske, and the team’s ability to turn critique into concrete gains will be closely observed by fans and rivals across the race track and beyond. Hendrick Motorsports’ surge, capped by Kyle Larson’s Phoenix performance, underscores the importance of constant evolution for any NASCAR organization aiming to reign atop the Cup Series once again.
