For a driver who sits outside the cutoff as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Kansas, Joey Logano is as relaxed as ever.
After all, the man who steers the No. 22 Ford Fusion has won the last two fall races at the 1.5-mile track, giving him five top 5's in his past six trips. Logano also boasts the fourth-best average finish (10.8) on intermediate tracks over the past two years, leading 1,083 laps during that span.
"That's one of our best tracks, and so I'm looking forward to it," he said of Kansas.
Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 is the second of three races in the Round of 12. The next race is Talladega, where four drivers will be eliminated from title contention. Logano finds himself six points out of the eighth and final transfer position after hitting the wall twice and finishing 36th last week at Charlotte.
"We had speed last week so I feel good about that. And we did win the Xfinity race, so we do have confidence," the Team Penske driver said.
And if there was any stress lingering from Charlotte, Logano shook it off. Literally.
On Tuesday, he visited the historic Ball & Chain bar and lounge in Little Havana, Miami, where he learned to dance Salsa. Or at least he received lessons to the tune of a live band. Logano did joke that his previous 'salsa experience before that involved chips.'
And though he was first to admit being out of his element on the dance floor, Logano, with wife Brittany in tow, said he had a good time during the South Florida trip that's in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month and in advance of Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18-20.
"I had a lot of fun. I learned how to play dominoes which is a pretty fun game actually, and we are going to take some of those [dominoes] home with us," said Logano, who competed against HMS president Matthew Becherer.
"I learned a lot about the culture in South Florida in the Miami area and about the Cuban culture as well. So, it was a lot of fun to check all of that out and get ready for the race down here."
Now he is ready to bounce back at Kansas, a track that was part of his second-round sweep a year ago. And his weekend is off to a strong start after qualifying sixth on Friday.
"I feel good about where we are at, for sure," Logano said.
