“Our execution is catching up to our speed”: Penske director confident of the team doing a 3-peat of winning the NASCAR Championships

Team Penske competition director Travis Geisler is confident in the team's momentum for a third consecutive Cup Series championship. He believes Ryan Blaney's #12 Ford has established a strong competitive foundation and is poised to continue its winning ways.

Ryan Blaney is the reigning Cup Series champion, having secured his first title with Penske in 2023, after teammate Joey Logano's second championship in 2022. Building on this success, the team has positioned all three of its drivers as strong contenders for the playoffs, accumulating four wins collectively so far this season.

Regarding Penske's performance, team director Travis Geisler expressed confidence in the #12 car's speed and competitiveness. He also mentioned that their drivers are getting into the groove ahead of the play-offs.

"I feel very comfortable with where we are speed-wise with the No. 12 [team], Racer quoted him as saying. "I think our execution is catching up to our speed now on that team, so we’ve been able to keep that ball rolling. [Blaney] could very easily be sitting here with four wins (if) Gateway goes half a cup of fuel differently."

"If you look at Atlanta, where he was three-thousandths from winning when leading on the last lap. It’s like, man, we could have been in a great spot. But they’re definitely starting to get to where they need to for playoff form."

Penske's drivers have won the last two Cup Series titles, and with the way they have been going this season, a third consecutive win seems likely.

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Penske's director suggests "more speed" for Joey Logano heading into the 2024 playoffs

With just four races remaining before the start of the 2024 playoffs, Geisler feels that Joey Logano's crew needs to find more speed in the car. The #22 driver has so far won only one race this season, at Nashville. Apart from that win, he has been able to secure five other top-10 finishes.

While Logano's current statistics are sufficient to qualify for the playoffs, Geisler believes that sustained speed and competitiveness will be essential for a deep playoff run. He emphasized that while a single victory secures a playoff berth, it might not be enough to advance to the championship round.

"I think the No. 22, we’ve got to find a way to find some more speed there," Geisler said. "They execute really well, they do all the little things right, we just have to find some more overall speed because you’re not going to get through the playoffs with one win going into it and not have a win somewhere (else)."

With two victories (at Iowa and Pocono), Blaney currently holds the top spot among Team Penske drivers. Logano is in 10th place, and Austin Cindric is in 12th place.