NASCAR is entering a new era with the return of “The Chase” championship format this season. Insiders believe Joey Logano is surprisingly well-equipped to adapt, but lingering concerns remain about whether the No. 22 Team Penske Ford team can consistently contend at the sport’s highest level.

Those concerns were laid out in the latest episode of The Teardown. There, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi evaluated Penske’s internal performance gap, and what it all means for Logano entering 2026.

First, Gluck said Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe are likely to handle the revised postseason better than many expect. He noted their strength has always been in preparation and maximizing results, even when outright speed is lacking.

“I think Logano will do a better job adjusting to this new format than people realize,” Gluck said. “They’ll go to work. They’ll maximize what they can.”

Still, Gluck stopped short of calling Logano a championship favorite, or even one of the top options. While he expects the No. 22 to be higher in the standings than critics anticipate, he believes Penske must elevate its overall consistency to the level of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing to seriously challenge for titles.

Bianchi agreed, pointing to what he described as a “gulf” inside the Penske organization, particularly when it comes to Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 team and the rest of the stable.

“There’s such a disconnect between what the No. 12 team is able to do most weeks and what their teammates are able to do,” Bianchi said. “Why does that gulf exist? Who knows?”

While Bianchi expects Logano to win a race or two and make the playoffs without issue, he’s skeptical about his sustained dominance. Logano’s recent average finishes, 15.3 in 2025, 17.1 in 2024 and 14.9 in 2023, reflect a driver who grinds out results rather than overwhelms the field.

“That’s not going to cut it,” Bianchi said bluntly. “You need to be top five and top 10 on a regular basis,” which Logano hasn’t achieved. 

Alas, that critique comes despite Logano’s résumé. The 35-year-old finished seventh in the 2025 standings despite just one win and has placed in the top 10 of the final standings seven times in the past eight seasons. 

He captured his most recent championship in 2024. Now, he enters 2026 chasing a fourth career title under a new playoff structure that rewards season-long consistency over elimination rounds.

Still, Logano has made it clear that format changes don’t concern him. Only one thing does.

“Just tell me the rules,” Logano previously said. “And then we gotta go figure out a way to win.”

With 37 career wins, a Daytona 500 victory and 609 Cup Series starts, Logano’s pedigree is unquestioned. But as insiders see it, the challenge in 2026 won’t be adaptability; it will be whether Penske can close the internal and organizational gaps needed to turn reliability into true contention for the No. 22 team.