Penske and Chevy hope promising Las Vegas continues to California
Joey Logano would love to say that his first true race weekend with his new crew chief proved that everything will be great this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to California and throughout 2020.
2 for 2 in the #Pennzoil400 for the 22!@joeylogano | @Pennzoil pic.twitter.com/UUyI4PMvM8
— Las Vegas Motor Speedway (@LVMotorSpeedway) February 25, 2020
Except he can’t.
Yeah, Logano won Sunday at Las Vegas, but few in racing put total stock in just a week or two. Change is evaluated over months, not weeks.
But the Penske crew chief changes did at least show promise as Logano won, Ryan Blaney led until a late caution and Brad Keselowski improved steadily during the event into a potential top-five car.
Joey Logano gets his first win of 2020. pic.twitter.com/LWPNrfRj59
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 24, 2020
The Penske crew chief changes, the change atop the box for 2018 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. and the new Chevrolet body headlined the biggest offseason moves prior to the 2020 season. While Daytona is pretty much a beast of its own with limited ability for a crew chief to have an impact on a race weekend (car changes are minimal, limited strategy), many viewed Vegas as their first real test.
In even a bigger lens, the west coast swing – the series heads to Auto Club (California) Speedway this weekend and Phoenix Raceway next week – should provide many clues on whether the changes will work down the road.
Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon share their thoughts on Joey Logano’s Las Vegas victory.@mikejoy500 | @JeffGordonWeb pic.twitter.com/6aAAfyClrT
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 24, 2020
“One race as a sample size is kind of tough,” Logano said following his Vegas win. “But this has been, I think, for Team Penske our best race track here in recent years, so it’s not a surprise to see all those cars up front.”
At Penske, the offseason moves had Logano getting Keselowski’s crew headed by Paul Wolfe, Keselowski paired with Blaney’s crew headed by Jeremy Bullins, and Blaney teaming with Logano’s crew headed by Todd Gordon.
Breaking down Joey Logano’s win. It’s Fast Thoughts with @bobpockrass. pic.twitter.com/IshP3i4KVJ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 24, 2020
“We made the move because we think there’s a lot to gain from it,” Logano said. “That’s the reason why you do it as Team Penske as a whole, not just one particular car.
“I think time will tell, but it’s a good start.”
Keselowski said the car was built a little different than the ones he had run in the past at Vegas.
Brad Keselowski said his car was a little different than past ones and he was happy with the progress through the weekend. pic.twitter.com/KH6SVthpvr
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 24, 2020
“I wish I could re-run the weekend and work through some things, but I certainly learned a lot and am confident we can win races,” Keselowski said.
Blaney could have won the first two races this year and they slipped away. The decision by Gordon to pit certainly, in hindsight, looked like the wrong one. That will happen to the best of crew chiefs so don’t expect a great deal of angst unless it happens again.
“Everyone ran pretty decent,” Blaney said. “I think it all worked.”
The other big crew chief change in the offseason came with Martin Truex Jr., whose crew chief Cole Pearn decided to retire and run a ski resort in his home country of Canada. Engineer James Small took his place, and Truex was by far the best Toyota at Vegas until a pit road miscue put him in the rear.
And now even more damage for @MartinTruex_Jr.
He brings out the caution after getting back into the @LVMotorSpeedway wall. pic.twitter.com/tB8GfHvbke
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 23, 2020
Possibly the biggest boost as the teams head to California could be the new Chevrolet. All four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars ran well, the JTG Daugherty cars looked improved, and it wasn’t a bad day for Richard Childress Racing. Chip Ganassi Racing didn’t look as strong as a year ago.
Six Chevrolets finished in the top-10 at Vegas.
The body changes with the nose and the rear of the car are designed with more curving that should help with the aerodynamics of the car.
Last year at California, two Chevrolets finished in the top-10. Those drivers will be anxious to see if the encouraging signs from Vegas do continue.
It’s about time to get to work @LVMotorSpeedway #OneFinalTime pic.twitter.com/5Nj8CvVQWG
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) February 23, 2020
“Last year, we could make the cars drive well but we couldn’t catch the car in front of us and the guys behind us would run us down,” seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said following a fifth-place finish at Vegas.
Typically, raw speed improvements would come with engine development, but Johnson said it is the impact of the new body.
“It’s really just overall shape of the body – there are ways to create downforce that you pay a higher drag penalty for than others,” Johnson said. “Our car that we have now is much more efficient. We’re creating great downforce with less drag.”
Xfinity: Good Start Sieg
Ryan Sieg made the Xfinity Series playoffs last year with his family’s RSS Racing, and his third-place run at Vegas showed he hopes he has a strong 2020 with the continued Richard Childress Racing alliance.
What a night in Vegas! Probably the fastest car we have ever had. Thanks to Cowboy, Big Mike, and the entire @RSS383993 team for preparing such a rocket ship. The pit crew had fast stops all night and the team called a perfect race. P3 for the @CMRroofing team. pic.twitter.com/Xr1vfiByQU
— Ryan Sieg Racing (@RyanSiegRacing) February 24, 2020
“I was surprised,” Sieg said. “I didn’t know what we were going to have. … We were pretty good in California last year and we should be even better.”
Trucks: Time Off
There is no west coast swing for truck teams, which get a two-week break before returning at Atlanta. The teams will use that time to get trucks ready.
Jordan Anderson and his team could use the time. The team has a chassis it used many times last year with solid results, but it needed a new body. The money earned from the second-place finish will allow his team to put a new body on it sooner than expected.
Stat of Note
Eight of the last 12 races at Auto Club Speedway have been won by drivers from the West Coast: California natives Jimmie Johnson (fall 2009, fall 2010, 2016), Kevin Harvick (2011) and Kyle Larson (2017) and Nevada native Kyle Busch (2013, 2014, 2019).
Viewers Guide
Friday
Xfinity practice: 3:05-3:55 p.m. ET, FS1
Cup practice, 4:05-4:55 p.m. ET, FS1
Xfinity practice, 5:02-5:27 p.m. ET, FS1
Cup practice 5:35-6:25 p.m. ET, FS1
Saturday
Xfinity qualifying, 1:05 p.m. ET, FS1
Cup qualifying, 2:35 p.m. ET, FS1
Xfinity race, 4:00 p.m. ET, FS1
Sunday
Cup race, 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Social Spotlight
Got a little therapy in yesterday. #outdoors #catchandrelease pic.twitter.com/0pitjh94f5
— Ryan Newman (@RyanJNewman) February 25, 2020
What They Said
“How are you not a fan of Ricky Rudd? I was a fan of him growing up. Met him a few times, which is cool. A hard‑nosed racer is what he was and really fun to watch.” – Joey Logano, whose 24th career Cup win lifted him past Ricky Rudd for 35th on the all-time list