NASCAR’s Joey Logano In ‘Playoff Mode’ With Nine Races Remaining

LOUDON, N.H. — Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano is one of six active full-time drivers who have won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Logano and Brad Keselowski are the only two of the six who have won two races at the 1.058-mile oval track, nicknamed the Magic Mile.

With nine races remaining before the playoffs begin, Keselowski secured his spot when he won at Darlington on Mother’s Day. However, Logano is currently on the bubble, sitting at 15th in the driver’s standings without a win. He will start 6-of-36 in the drivers’ field.

While a win at NHMS would certainly make things easier for Logano for the remainder of the NASCAR season, he doesn’t necessarily feel more pressure whenever he gets in his racecar.

“It doesn’t really change much. To be honest, it puts you in playoff mode a little bit sooner because you’re racing as if you’re in the playoffs,” Logano told reporters on Saturday. “You’re already in, and you’re just racing to get playoff points anywhere you can.”

Logano continued: “You can’t take as big of risks on certain things because you can’t afford last week to blow a tire. You can’t afford to do it. It definitely adjusts some of your setup choices, some of the way you drive, some of the way you call the race in general. It goes through your mind. It has to go through your mind. At the same time, you still know what a win’s worth. So you got to go out there and win the race.”

Even without a win under his belt this season, Logano is confident his team will make the NASCAR playoffs.

“I feel good about our chances of getting in,” Logano said. “But, it’s not as comfortable as we want it to be. That’s for sure.

“I think the team does a good job being under pressure. Our team knows how to handle it. Because we’ve been in the playoffs so many times, we put ourselves in the championship for so many times that we know how to handle these situations when your back’s up against the wall. … It’s not fun, but it’s not out of the norm for us either to know how to handle these types of scenarios.”

Logano recorded two top-fives, five top-10s and two races he didn’t finish across the first 18 races of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

The USA Today 301 will get underway with the green flag expected at 2:06 p.m. ET.