Logano takes must-win status in stride

Joey Logano didn't look like a driver whose season depends on what happens this weekend. The first driver to face the media Friday at Richmond Raceway – bright and early at 9 a.m. ET – Logano exuded the same attitude he does every weekend.

The Team Penske driver thoughtfully answered each question. He laughed at being the one driver who knows better than any how impactful NASCAR penalties are. And Logano was honest about his No. 22 team needing to be faster, which has been a problem for most of the year. It's also part of the reason Logano is where he is: Either win this weekend or watch others compete for the championship.

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"The last few years we've come into this race saying it was kind of the last vacation race you get in a way. The last weekend that doesn't have any stress or pressure before you have 10 weeks of hell," Logano said Friday morning. "Now that pressure has been on us for a long period of time, over the last few months really in trying to get through this little slump we're in."

The slump coincided with Logano losing his playoff eligibility when his spring win at Richmond was ruled encumbered. NASCAR found a rear suspension infraction on the No. 22 car during teardown at the R&D Center.

"Are we bitter about what happened? It happened. That's in the past," Logano said. "We have to keep looking out the windshield. Roger [Penske] preaches that to us all the time. What's happened, happened, and we can't change it. We have to keep looking forward."

Buried in 19th on the playoff grid, Logano has finished in the top 10 just three times in the last 16 races. He's led 17 laps and finished 21st or worse in 10 of those 16 races. If there's a bright spot for Logano, it's his performance at Richmond. In 17 starts, Logano has two wins, 190 laps led and nine top-10 finishes.

Logano knows the irony of winning at Richmond again to make the playoffs would be incredible. From a personal standpoint, a victory Saturday night would be huge for many reasons.

"We're in a do-or-die situation. Anytime you can win a race in that situation, there's no better feeling than that," Logano said. "Also returning here after our win in the spring and obviously the drama that followed, it would be very nice to be able to get back in Victory Lane and prove a point.

"I don't see any reason why we can't. We had great pit stops last week. We went for it on the strategy and it didn't work out but we have to. That's the situation. Second place is a failure when you look at the goal this week. It's win or nothing. We have to race that way. Hopefully, it all works out. We'll just have to wait and see."