Former NASCAR driver and commentator Kevin Harvick thinks Joey Logano’s progress into the playoffs Round of 8 after the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval could be “dangerous” for the rest of the field. Ruling out Logano’s speed as a strong point, Harvick highlighted another factor that elevates the No. 22 driver.
Logano could be on his way to a fourth Cup Series title, the most recent one being the 2024 championship. Harvick, however, has praised Logano’s team for flawless race executions and for forming the right strategy at the right time, which has mostly worked in favor of the Team Penske driver. Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast, Harvick said:
“I still believe that the (threat) with the No. 22 car — with Joey Logano — is exactly what happened this week. You’ve got Paul Wolfe sitting up on the pit box, and he made an absolutely gutsy call to bring that car to pit road. The whole strategy was theirs, right? You saw the No. 20 come to pit road before the No. 22 car, put tires on it, and it forced everybody else to follow.
“That’s why I say the 1 car could’ve just come down too — they were off strategy and didn’t follow suit with everyone else. But Paul Wolfe — guts. He has the guts, the knowledge, the brains to just do something that — Big Ball Paul. He made the call, and it put them in position for everything that happened after. It also put the No. 1 in a bad spot because they didn’t match the pit call.”
Harvick likened the strategy by Logano’s team to Denny Hamlin’s, highlighting that the right call makes all the difference. He said:
“The No. 22 team is that they just race better than most everybody else. When they execute, they’re a lot like the No. 11. The No. 11 has issues and runs into trouble sometimes, but they’re great at grinding it out. The 22 team is the same way — they grind it out on restarts, they make the right calls at the right time. You look back at Kansas — that two-tire call put them in position, and that’s just what Paul Wolfe does. And Joey Logano executes it well to maximize what they do.”
Harvick explained what sets the No. 22 apart from other cars that are faster, but still find themselves behind Logano. He added:
“I don’t believe they have the speed they need — Vegas, Martinsville, Talladega, those are good tracks for them — but I don’t think they have the outright pace of the No. 12. What they do have is the ability to put themselves in front of faster cars by executing on restarts. They’re dangerous from that standpoint. Like I said, I don’t think they have the speed, but they have the ability to make the right calls and make things happen better than just about anyone else.”