Joey Logano wary of 'ridiculously fast' NASCAR rivals

A three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske star Joey Logano is looking to make it four now that the postseason has arrived.

And, whilst his playoff campaign got underway in incredibly underwhelming fashion at Darlington earlier this month, where he could only register a 20th-place finish, things were much better in St Louis on Sunday.

At World Wide Technology Raceway, Logano came home fifth in his No. 22 Ford, crucially moving him above the cut line (+21) to 10th in the playoff standings ahead of next weekend's elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Sunday's race in St Louis was won by Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, becoming the second JGR and Toyota car to advance to the Round of 12 following Chase Briscoe's victory at Darlington in the No. 19.

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Logano acknowledges Toyota threat

Speaking to the media post-race in St Louis, Logano believes Toyota's post-season dominance so far is no fluke, either.

“They are ridiculously fast,” Logano said of Toyota cars winning the opening two playoff races.

“They have a lot of grip and a lot of horsepower. A lot. We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch up.

"They are really, really fast, and we have to be absolutely perfect in every category to contend, and we need them to make mistakes, which they do.

"We have potential to do it; it’s just going to be challenging.”

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Which Toyota cars qualified for the playoffs?

On top of Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 and Chase Briscoe in the No. 19, there are several other Toyota cars for Logano and company to contend with this postseason.

Hamlin and Briscoe's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell, for one, who has brought the No. 20 Toyota home in 29th and 7th in recent weeks.

Other than the three JGR cars, the other Toyotas competing in the playoffs are the 23XI Racing duo of Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, in the Nos. 23 and 45, respectively.

Heading to Bristol, all five Toyota cars are either locked into the next round or are above the cutoff line. Bell is the worst-placed Toyota star heading into the race, and even he sits 8th overall in the standings and +32 to the elimination line.

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