Joey Logano Can Extend His Kansas Speedway Record

Getty Joey Logano can extend a playoff record at Kansas Speedway.

The NASCAR Cup Series drivers head to Kansas Speedway for the second race of the playoffs. Two Toyota drivers have the best odds, but Joey Logano has an opportunity to extend his record for playoff wins at the track.

The Team Penske driver heads to Kansas Speedway with three playoff wins at the intermediate track. He first reached Victory Lane during the 2014 playoffs en route to an appearance in the championship four. He won again in 2015 before adding his third during the 2020 playoffs. This season also marked another year where Logano reached the championship four.

Logano has the most playoff wins at Kansas Speedway in the Cup Series. He leads a group of multi-time winners that also includes Tony Stewart (2006, 2009), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011), Greg Biffle (2007, 2010), and Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016).

Mark Martin (2005), Matt Kenseth (2012), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Chase Elliott (2018), Denny Hamlin (2019), and Kyle Larson (2021) all have one playoff win at Kansas Speedway.

Logano Gained an Advantage After the Southern 500

GettyJoey Logano races at Kansas Speedway.

The trip to Kansas Speedway takes place after Logano gained an advantage at Darlington Raceway. He finished fourth overall in the Southern 500 while other championship contenders dealt with unexpected issues.

This performance, as well as Chase Elliott’s last-place finish, helped Logano move from second in the points to the top spot. He is now 38 points above the cutline with two races remaining in the Round of 16.

One interesting statistic to watch involves the winner of the Kansas Speedway race. There have been two drivers in Cup Series history that won the playoff race at the intermediate track and then followed it up by winning the championship.

Jimmie Johnson was the first to achieve this feat. He started from the pole during the 2008 race, and he led 124 laps before winning the race. Weeks later, he won the championship.

Martin Truex Jr. repeated this feat during a dominant 2017 campaign. He swept the Kansas races and led 61 laps during the playoff event after starting from the pole. Like Johnson before him, Truex went on to win the championship.

History Indicates a Playoff Driver Will Win

GettyJoey Logano makes a pit stop at Darlington Raceway.

The 2022 Cup Series playoffs started with an upset. Erik Jones took the No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway after holding off Denny Hamlin.

Jones was not in the playoffs, so this win did not have a major impact on the cutline. Though it created questions about whether another non-playoff driver will keep this streak alive and win at Kansas Speedway.

History indicates that this will not happen. According to a statistical advance provided by NASCAR Media, a non-playoff driver has never won the second race of the playoff schedule. Additionally, there are six playoff drivers with previous trips to Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway.

Of course, the 2022 season has consistently created some surprise as teams and drivers have adapted to the Next Gen cars, so it’s possible that some of the non-playoff drivers could put themselves in contention for the win. Truex and Brad Keselowski are both options considering that they each have two wins at Kansas Speedway in the Cup Series.