Joey Logano forces NASCAR insiders to rethink fraud championship narrative with massive result

Joey Logano made a big statement during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 16, 2025. After weeks of struggling, he helped Team Penske place all three of its cars in the top five.

During The Teardown podcast on YouTube, NASCAR analysts Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck spoke about how this strong result has silenced critics who called Joey Logano’s past Cup Series title a “fraud championship.” The team entered the weekend with many problems, but still managed to show they are back in form.

Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric bring Team Penske back in contention at Richmond Raceway

Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck were the ones to note that Joey Logano and the #22 Ford Mustang team could not even complete a qualifying lap and had to be provided used tires from Rick Ware Racing. They started the 400-mile race P38 at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, and it forced him. As if that wasn't bad enough on his luck, he suffered a flat tire with 300 miles to go.

Despite all of those challenges, Joey Logano showed great speed and raced across the field to finish fourth. Finishing in fifth, Austin Cindric line-crossed Ryan Blaney in third. Jeff Gluck said on the podcast, “When you see all three Penske cars in the top five, it definitely scares the rest of the field.

The Joey Logano ‘fraud championship’ talk is fading away.”

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During the podcast, Jordan Bianchi pointed out that Team Penske had been mostly quiet during the summer, except for a few solid results from Ryan Blaney. Austin Cindric had not recorded a single-digit finish since his Talladega win, and Joey Logano had only one top-five finish since his Texas win in May. Bianchi added, “Richmond is one of the tracks where Penske always looks strong.”After Richmond, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric are looking forward to the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at Daytona International Speedway.The race is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm ET, will cover 160 laps, and will be shown live on HBO Max, NBC Sports, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.