Joey Logano and Team Penske are making a push for NASCAR points as the Chase approaches
- Joey Logano said he has extra motivation as Team Penske tries to improve its points position before the Chase standings are set.
- Logano has climbed from 20th to ninth in the standings over the last six races after winning at Richmond.
- The provisional Chase field has been unchanged for four races; Shane van Gisbergen holds the 16th and final spot, 50 points ahead of Ryan Preece.
- Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric also moved up in the standings, with Blaney second and Cindric 15th after a career-best third at Richmond.
- Denny Hamlin leads Blaney by 115 points and is likely to clinch the top seed before the Chase begins Sept. 6 at Darlington.
- NASCAR analytics cited in the story found that champions started in the top six in 85% of simulations.
Joey Logano and Team Penske are focused on the points race as NASCAR’s Chase nears. Logano, a three-time Cup Series champion, said he feels extra motivation while chasing a title under the current format. After winning at Richmond, he moved from 20th to ninth in the standings over the past six races.
The battle for the 16-driver Chase field has become less volatile because the top 16 have not changed over the last four races. Shane van Gisbergen currently holds the last spot, 50 points ahead of Ryan Preece. Several drivers below the cutoff also lost ground at Richmond, reducing the chance of a late surprise entrant.
The bigger shift has been near the top of the standings, where Team Penske has made progress. Ryan Blaney moved into second, Austin Cindric climbed to 15th after a career-best third-place finish at Richmond, and Logano continued his own rise after a stretch that included two wins in four races.
Denny Hamlin leads the standings by 115 points and is likely to secure the top seed before the regular season ends. The Chase starts Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway, when the standings will be reset for the 10-race title run.
随着Chase临近，乔伊·洛加诺和彭斯克车队正在冲刺NASCAR积分
随着NASCAR Chase临近，乔伊·洛加诺和彭斯克车队把重点放在积分争夺上。作为三届杯赛冠军，洛加诺表示，在现行赛制下争夺总冠军让他更有动力。里士满夺冠后，他在过去六场比赛中将排名从第20位提升到第9位。
争夺16个Chase席位的局势最近变化不大，前16名已经连续四场比赛没有调整。谢恩·范·吉斯伯根暂时占据最后一个名额，领先瑞安·普里斯50分。其他落在分界线外的车手在里士满也进一步失分，增加了最后阶段出现意外入围者的难度。
更明显的变化出现在积分榜前段，彭斯克车队表现突出。瑞安·布莱尼升至第二，奥斯汀·辛德里克在里士满短椭圆赛道拿到生涯最佳第三后升至第15位，洛加诺也继续上升，他在最近四场比赛中赢了两场。
丹尼·哈姆林目前领先115分，预计将在常规赛结束前锁定头号种子。Chase将于9月6日在达灵顿赛道开始，届时积分将重置，进入10场冠军争夺阶段。