Logano's speed struggles continue

There has been a noticeable absence at the top of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard the last two weeks.

In the three races since winning at Richmond International Raceway at the end of April, Joey Logano has finished 21st or worse. But what has been especially eyebrow-raising the last two weekends, Charlotte Motor Speedway and now Dover, is that Logano has struggled with speed in qualifying. For the second consecutive week, the No. 22 Team Penske Ford will start outside the top 20 (26th).

"I just got loose on the first run in (Turns) 3 and 4 and chased it up the racetrack," Logano said Friday. "We just over-adjusted a little bit. I got tight in the two-thirds on the second run and lost too much speed there."

Of the qualifying sessions he's attempted, Dover is the first time Logano has failed to make it through all three rounds of qualifying. In Fontana, did not attempt a lap because his car didn't make it through inspection in time.

In the season's first nine races, Logano earned one pole (Phoenix) and seven top-five starts. The Daytona 500 (15th) and the aforementioned Fontana (35th) were the outliers.

Logano's teammate, Brad Keselowski, did advance to the final round of qualifying at Dover and will start 10th. Overall, the Penske organization is still moving in a positive direction; however, Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon have come upon some unexpected hurdles.

"We're lacking speed right now, and we don't understand completely why," Logano continued. "There's a lot of different theories, I guess. We've lacked speed the last few weeks. We have some work to do.

"We'll figure it out. It's a strong team. We've fought back before. We'll have to fight back this weekend, but we'll fight back in the bigger picture and get speed back in our car."