With 17 races down and nine more to go to qualify for the 2017 NASCAR Cup playoffs, time is slowly running out for a number of drivers to make the 16-driver playoffs.
Joey Logano is one of those. Even though he won at Richmond, his win was encumbered due to a post-race violation. Ergo, the win may have counted in the NASCAR Cup standings, but it did not count towards Logano’s eligibility for the playoffs.
The only way he’ll be able to make the playoffs is win another race in the next nine (and hope it’s not encumbered), or qualify on ponts.
Right now, Logano is 12th in the Cup standings after Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
However, there are five drivers behind Logano that do have a win -- Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2 wins) and Austin Dillon -- meaning they have priority to make the playoffs over him.
If the NASCAR Cup playoffs were to start today, Logano would be 17th in terms of wins and miss the playoffs.
Logano finished a disappointing 35th in last night’s Coke Zero due to a wreck.
Even though he still has a lot to do to make the playoffs, Logano says he and his team are not in “panic mode” at making the playoffs. All he has to do is earn a race win that counts – and the sooner, the better.
Hear Logano’s comments in the video above.