Phoenix Raceway (Avondale, Ariz.) — As Joey Logano stood on pit road during the final INDYCAR practice Friday, he marveled at what he was seeing … and hearing.
“They’re going really fast, number one,” Logano told me. “They’re a little quieter than what our race cars are like.
“The biggest things you notice is just the culture difference. The way they have things set up, the way they prepare for their practice, and what they look at. Those type of things are just a little bit different than what we do. I’m interested to see the race and kind of see their strategies and how they play their race out.”
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The Team Penske driver will join the FOX Sports booth for the 250-lap INDYCAR race Saturday at the 1-mile oval as part of the Desert Double weekend. INDYCAR kicks off a Saturday doubleheader with INDYCAR and the O’Reilly Series, and then the Cup Series races Sunday.
Logano will go from Cup qualifying Saturday morning to the booth for the 250-lap INDYCAR race (3 p.m. ET, FOX). The three-time Cup champion will then race Sunday in the 312-lap event (3 p.m. ET, FS1).
“There’s not much the same from an INDYCAR to a Cup car,” Logano said. “That’s what makes this weekend so special. You have two completely different things. So if you’re a race fan, where else can you go and see two completely different things within a day of each other?
“The cars themselves. I mean, look at theirs. They’re small, right? Like, look at how low they are. Tires are huge, the amount of downforce they have is ridiculous. All those things together is what makes their speed just ridiculous.”
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NASCAR driver Joey Logano will sit in the broadcast booth for Saturday’s INDYCAR race at Phoenix Raceway.
The INDYCAR drivers turn laps at about six seconds and 40 mph faster than Cup cars.
“I was talking with McLaughlin before the week started here, and he’s, like, ‘You guys just kind of cover the break a little bit?’ I’m like, ‘No, bro, like, we’re on the binders as hard as we can. We’re downshifting, it’s a lot of brake.’
“And he was in disbelief because they’re pinned all the way around, almost at least. They’re right at it. So it’s kind of crazy to hear the differences in driving.”
Team Penske driver David Malukas won the pole Friday for the INDYCAR race, setting an early standard for the organization that has both of its INDYCAR and NASCAR operations under one roof in North Carolina.
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“There’s a friendly rivalry,” Logano said. “We all have fun with each other. We want to see them win. … It’s fun to root them on and I’m sure they’ll have fun, too, rooting from our end, too.”
While both series have competed on the same weekend, this is the first time on an oval.
The practice Logano watched was the second of the day, in addition to qualifying, with a couple of hours between for adjustments.
“They’re very surprised when we say, ‘Yeah, we got like, you know, 20 minutes and we go qualify, that’s what we get.’ And a lot of the [INDYCAR] drivers are in disbelief when they hear that.
“They obviously are used to a lot of practice. We used to have this. I’m OK doing what we’re doing.”
