What Joey Logano said after Ryan Blaney’s Nashville win capped off all Team Penske cars for the 2025 playoffs
Joey Logano had every reason to smile on Sunday night (June 1), even if he didn't take the checkered flag himself. Teammate Ryan Blaney's Nashville win marks a pivotal moment for Team Penske, with all three of its Cup entries, along with affiliate Wood Brothers Racing, now into the 2025 NASCAR playoffs.
Logano finished fourth in the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400, coming off a turbulent Memorial Day weekend. With No. 2 Austin Cindric's Talladega win and his Texas triumph earlier in the season, Blaney's breakthrough in Nashville completed the Penske playoff picture by June.
Speaking to Peter Stratta post-race, Joey Logano reflected on what the win meant for the organization:
"The 12's been fast all year, so he deserves a win or so. I'm proud of Team Penske at this point. To have four solid cars out of that shop, including the 21 (Josh Berry), that's pretty dang impressive. So, I'm proud of everybody and the effort to have four strong teams like that, it's really hard to do."
The No. 21 car is driven by Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry, who won earlier this year in Las Vegas. The team shares a technical alliance with Team Penske, running Roush-Yates engines and equipment sourced directly from the Mooresville-based powerhouse.
After multiple close calls throughout 2025, Ryan Blaney finally took the win that had eluded him all year. Leading a race-best 139 of 300 laps, the 2023 champion held off a late charge from 22-year-old Carson Hocevar to capture a 2.8-second victory. Joey Logano showed speed throughout the night and brought home a solid fourth-place finish.
With that, Penske became the first multi-car team this season to see all three of its full-time Cup drivers qualify for the postseason. Blaney also echoed Logano's thoughts and praised the broader team effort (via Cup Scene):
"I've been really proud of Team Penske and the Wood Brothers' speed this year so far, through the first dozen races. For the last couple years, we've struggled a little bit kind of getting going before the summer months... but I thought we just fired off this year with tons of speed."
Heading into the summer stretch, all four Penske-aligned cars - Blaney, Logano, Cindric, and Berry are locked into the 16-driver playoff field. For comparison, Hendrick Motorsports has two confirmed qualifiers (William Byron and Kyle Larson), while Chase Elliott continues to chase his first win, standing fifth in the 2025 NASCAR points table.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell have also secured wins, with Chase Briscoe (11th) keeping himself in the hunt. However, JGR No. 54 Ty Gibbs has dropped to a worrying 27th. With 12 regular-season races remaining, the field now prepares for the In-Season Tournament and final playoff pushes.
Team Penske rebounds in Nashville with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney after disastrous Memorial Day weekend
Nashville couldn't have come at a better time for Team Penske, just one week after what may have been the team's most demoralizing weekend of the season. On Memorial Day Sunday, Penske faced massive scrutiny after two of its IndyCar entries were sent to the back of the grid for technical violations.
What followed were swift personnel changes as Roger Penske fired three executives. Hours later in Charlotte, Penske's Cup Series performance didn't fare any better as not a single Penske driver finished inside the top 10 at the Coca-Cola 600. Speaking about the turnaround from Charlotte to Nashville, Joey Logano told FOX:
"Everyone fights hard, it's a hard-fought situation. Last week in Charlotte, we just missed our setups. We just didn't hit it right and understood where that was... and this race, we fired off, top five speed pretty much the whole race and the 12 was obviously the best car."
In Nashville, both Penske drivers ran both Stages in the top ten with Blaney winning Stage 2 and holding command through the final stretch. Logano ran competitively all evening, climbing to fourth by the checkered flag. Austin Cindric, meanwhile, finished 18th after a quiet but clean race.
The NASCAR Cup Series now turns its attention to Michigan International Speedway, where action resumes Sunday, June 8 at 2:00 PM ET in the 200-lap Firekeepers Casino 400.