Roger Penske's hope of capping 50th anniversary with Cup title still alive
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Roger Penske reached the Verizon IndyCar Series final at Sonoma Raceway assured of a 14th open-wheel championship. Only points leader and eventual champion Simon Pagenaud and second-place Will Power were mathematically viable and they’re on his payroll.
Penske had no chance of the same security for the Sprint Cup culmination at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the top four drivers in the standings contest the title on the 1.5-mile oval. He already was comfortable with that. But his forces were halved Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway when 2012 champion Brad Keselowski was eliminated from the Chase for the Sprint Cup after his motor overheated as he controlled the race.
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Joey Logano’s victory advanced the 26-year-old from tied for eighth approaching the eight-driver cut to the third round beginning this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. It gives his owner a chance of book-ending the 50th anniversary of Team Penske with titles.
“Obviously, that’s in the back of my mind,” Penske said in victory lane. “But it was way back in my mind about 20 minutes ago. That could be a good opportunity for us. But certainly, you’ve got (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) and certainly the Hendrick cars and Kurt (Busch) and the (Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing). There’s some real strong competitors out there for sure.”
FOUR-GONE CONCLUSION: Four drivers lead the series with four wins. Half of them were eliminated from title contention when Keselowski’s Ford and Martin Truex Jr.’s Toyota suffered engine failures. Truex had won two of three races in the first round. Keselowski’s season was unwound when debris from the grandstands over-heated his motor despite numerous attempts to dislodge it by using other cars in the draft. Logano was able to avoid the same pitfall when a timely caution loosened the flotsam on his nose piece. Penske said Keselowski’s engine at one point reached 20 degrees hotter than it could tolerate.
“It was a shame. Brad led 90 laps, really set the pace of the race all day long,” Penske said. “For me, you hate to run all season long as well as we have and not be able to make the next round.”
But Penske sees merit in the current elimination-style playoff format. Logano’s win was his second this season after claiming six in 2015, sweeping the third round but being eliminated after Matt Kenseth fouled his third round by intentionally wrecking him off the lead at Martinsville for a slight incurred at Kansas.
“From my perspective, it’s the same for everyone,” Penske said. “The pressure cooker just gets tighter and tighter as we go from 16 (title-eligibles) to 12 and now to eight and I think that’s what the fans want. It’s never over and it’s a shootout until the end. I think I like the format. I think it puts pressure on us. I don’t like it when I’m not able to go to Homestead and try to win.”
That the system doesn’t reflect the season doesn’t necessarily matter, JGR’s Carl Edwards said.
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“It doesn’t represent the season by definition,” Edwards said. “There are five rounds. There are 26 (races), three, three, three and one. This is new territory in the sport and everyone is trying to master it and figure out to make sure they’re there at the end. It’s really tough.”
HALF-LIFE: JGR's defending series champion Kyle Busch, Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kenseth comprise half of the eight-driver third round of those still contesting the championship. Only the blown engine seemed to prevent Truex from increasing that total as he raced at the front in his 41 laps. Edwards believes JGR, which won 11 of 26 regular-season races, can wedge its entire lineup into the final at Homestead, where four will contest the championship.
“There’s no reason all four of these cars can’t be in the race at Homestead,” he said.
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