Kevin Harvick Spills Joey Logano’s Secret Weapon Behind Team Penske’s Dominance

Recent trends in the playoffs were reversed by the first race of 12-round racing at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing had swept the Round of 16, but this opener reflected a reversed dominance as the on-track fight between Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin crippled their performance. In the meantime, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano of Team Penske earned the front row and took first and fourth places, with a 0.937-second result in favor of Blaney. This reversal is an indication of more planning behind the success of Penske.

Kevin Harvick, who retired in 2023 after winning 60 Cup Series races, gave incisive observations on Team Penske surging at NHMS. Harvick attributed the performance to a test in July 2025 at the track, which is home to Logano, a Connecticut native and a winner there in 2009 and 2014. The influence of the test session was oversized, with all three participants of the test, including Logano, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain, finishing in the top 10. Harvick unveils the layers of how such attempts re-create the fortunes of teams.

Kevin Harvick’s take on Logano’s pivotal role

In the 23rd September episode of his Happy Hour Podcast, the veteran driver had dismantled the turnaround of Team Penske and identified veteran savvy in Joey Logano as the triggering factor. “Joey Logano goes to North Wilkesboro, does the test. Veteran Pro leader. Goes to the test. They figure something out, and off they go,” Harvick said, reminiscing about how Penske struggled to compete in the first part of the season last year, and then Logano tested his car and found speed.

This trend continued at NHMS, with Logano having his July tire test engagement in providing setups that catapulted Penske cars to practice and qualifying domination. Harvick emphasized the fact that few drivers can extract profits even with a limited number of tests, with Logano having the ability to “dig out of a hole” and change the fortunes of the team on the flat track.

Harvick doubled the value of the test two times and stated, “All you heard when he came back from Loudon. How fast was the 22 car? They show back up, all the Penske cars are fast, on the pole, on the front row. Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano are leading laps, and that’s why you have to take your guy to the tests, because you don’t get many of them.” Logano scored 37 wins in the Cup and three championships in 2018, 2022, and 2024, and his experience with the home track played into July, where he tested compounds that helped generate tire falloff to make racing more enjoyable.

This directly assisted Blaney in his long-run velocity, reaching up to a 10-30 lap average, and the pole and 147 laps led were the appetizers set by Logano. Co-host Mamba Smith echoed this, saying how the Gateway test had enhanced their flat-track game similarly, showing the influence of test drivers on the organization.

Harvick concluded the importance of those tests by stating, “I can’t emphasize enough how important those tests are to take the right guy.” In the case of Penske, NHMS test input by Logano, which entails data as an engineer, took all three cars to the next level, with Blaney capturing his 16th career victory and making it into the Round of 8.

Whereas Harvick drew attention to the advantage of Logano, opponents’ camps raised the alarm of the growing strength of Penske as the playoffs went further.

Gabehart sounds alarm as Petty ally tips Penske for title push

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chris Gabehart didn’t hold back after NHMS, warning rivals about Team Penske’s form. “The biggest thing you have to take away from today, with this aero package and the same tires at Phoenix and a one-mile raceway, the Penske cars are completely untouchable again,” he stated, drawing parallels between Loudon and the championship-deciding Phoenix track. Gabehart, reflecting on JGR’s past highs, added, “I know what it’s like to be untouchable. We’ve been fortunate enough to be on the right side of that, but the reality is we have a lot of work to do with this package.” This came as Penske’s Fords, including ally Josh Berry’s second-place run, claimed three of the top four spots.

Richard Petty and his longtime crew chief, Dale Inman also added more credence to the argument of Penske as JGR struggled. Inman said, “I’m going to give it to Penske because of the last race, and the determining factor is—of the final four, who has got the best finish at Phoenix, and the Fords were the dominant cars yesterday. I think that the two tracks (New Hampshire and Phoenix) are somewhat alike.”

Petty agreed, pointing out that Chevrolets had not dominated anything outright: “The Chevrolets have not really dominated anything, but they’ve been right there on the verge. So, it’s going to come down to who gets the breaks and who doesn’t get the breaks.” Their approval brought out the playoff shrewdness of Penske, particularly when Blaney acquired momentum that put him in the next round.