Can Joey Logano's Penske teammate and double Indy 500 winner do the double like Kyle Larson? 2-time NASCAR champion gives his verdict
Penske's Joey Logano in a recent conversation discussed the possibility of his teammate in the NTT IndyCar Series getting behind the wheel of the Next-Gen car. Josef Newgarden currently competes for Team Penske, piloting the #2 Dallara/Chevrolet in the open-wheel car racing.
NASCAR and IndyCar Series witnessed the Memorial Day weekend on May 26, when Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson made an Indy500-Coke600 historic Double attempt. Larson after starting the Indy 500 from fifth place, finished his run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at P18. However, due to a rain-delayed start at Indianapolis, the #5 HMS driver couldn't start the Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Meanwhile, #2 IndyCar driver Newgarden, celebrated at the victory lane of the Indianapolis 500, after successfully defending his title. Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, #22 Ford driver Logano was asked about Josef Newgarden's chances of success in a one-off in the stock car. To this, the 34-year-old Logano said:
"Well, he (Josef Newgarden) has brought it up before that he wants to."
The two-time Cup Series champion Logano then elaborated on the two types of car in that conversation:
"The transition is not that easy into a stock car from an Indy car. It seems like they're so different. Now, in this day and age, maybe a little bit closer than ever, especially if you're on a road course, where Joseph's driven other sports cars that are similar to the next-gen Cup car now."
Joey Logano believes that Newgarden would be quite comfortable and "competitive" if he would jump in directly on a road course. #22 Logano also claimed that the oval tracks would probably take a little longer for the IndyCar driver Newgarden to "get his head wrapped around."
The Connecticut native Logano also gave an instance of #16 Kaulig Racing's part-time Cup Series driver Shane van Gisbergen, who is famously known for winning Supercars Championship three times.
"It's no different than what we've seen with Shane right now. This same thing is that his road courses, he's an animal. On an oval, he's figuring it out. He's getting better every week. I can see that, but it's going to take a little bit longer," Logano added.
Logano also believes that to tame the oval tracks "it takes a while if you've never done it your whole life."
"It's just a completely different discipline," Joey Logano said.
Joey Logano clears air on Kyle Larson's playoff waiver debate
The NASCAR community is currently occupied with the buzzing news about whether Kyle Larson should receive the waiver for missing the opportunity to start the 14th Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Team Penske's Joey Logano also shared his thoughts on NASCAR's "gray rule" in a recent interview.
Joey Logano recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to clear his misunderstanding regarding Larson's waiver debate.
"If anyone listened to what I said yesterday, I never picked a side. I was pointing out the tough decision that NASCAR is in. Since words have been twisted yet again….here’s what I think… What Larson did for Motorsports was amazing, and he should get the waiver," Joey Logano said.
2021 Cup Series champion Larson already has two wins in the current season, which makes him eligible for the Playoffs. However, NASCAR's rulebook states that the drivers should start all 26 point-paying races in the regular season for a chance in the playoffs.
Larson was unable to start the Coca-Cola 600 due to uncontrollable weather conditions in Indianapolis, which resulted in a delayed start at the Indy 500. Thus, resulted in an unsuccessful Double Duty attempt.
Presently, #22 Logano sits at the P17 spot, shying away from the Cup Series playoffs in the overall standings with 315 points. He has one top-five and three top-tens so far. On the other hand, #5 Larson is in third place in the overall standings with 486 points.