Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano easily move past Bristol wreck

Just as every NASCAR organization does weekly, Team Penske holds a competition meeting with drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, their crew chiefs and assorted personnel to review the events of the previous race.

This past week, however, Penske held no such meeting for the mere reason there was nothing to discuss because last Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway was over before it ever really began. After just 19 laps into the Food City 500, Keselowski suddenly lost control exiting Turn 4 and spun into the path of Logano, who had no avenue of escape.

The contact between the two was considerable, requiring extensive repairs. Instead of contending for the victory as expected, Keselowski and Logano instead finished 35th and 40th, respectively. Combined with the fact Bristol was plagued by rain -- including a nearly four-hour stoppage immediately following the Penske collision -- a long day and night was had by all involved.

“We didn’t talk much as a team because there wasn’t as much to go over after such a short run,” Logano laughed Friday at Richmond International Raceway. “It was a tough day, but we were able to take something out of the weekend. I think the damage repair the team did was really good and we showed we had a really fast car afterwards.”

If Logano’s words sound like lip service of someone trying in vain to find the positive out of a bad situation, it’s not. The optimism is genuine and doesn’t just emanate from the perpetually smiling Logano, but across the Penske camp.

Keselowski and Logano are as close as teammates could be. At its root is the bond formed in 2012 -- despite challenging for a Sprint Cup championship he would eventually win, Keselowski played a pivotal role in Logano’s recruitment, urging owner Roger Penske to sign him even though Logano’s reputation was that of a driver not ready to compete in NASCAR’s top division.

But Logano, 24, has grown into the driver many thought he would become at age 18, when Joe Gibbs Racing named him Tony Stewart’s successor. In his first season at Penske, Logano won a single race followed by five victories last year. He opened 2015 by winning the Daytona 500. And Logano’s many triumphs haven’t come at the expense of Keselowski, who won a series-best six times in 2014 and already owns a victory this season at Auto Club Speedway.

That its two teams are thriving is in contrast to where Penske stood before Logano’s 2013 arrival, when success was centralized to a single driver. A dramatic departure when six times in an eight-year span (2005-12) just a single Penske driver recorded a victory.

Nowadays Penske fields not just one competitive car, but a pair, giving another reason why last week’s disappointment is so easy to shrug off.

“Everything is fine,” Logano said. “Brad and I talked about it. He obviously didn’t mean to do it. It hurt both our days, not just mine.”

Frustration is easier to move past when you know your cars are among the very best on the circuit, as is the case with Penske and its fleet of Fords. In qualifying for Saturday’s Toyota Owners 400, Logano sped to the No. 1 starting position. The pole was his third of the season, tying a personal best. Keselowski posted the seventh-fastest time.

“I would have liked the pole, but I am definitely happy for Joey to see him get it,” Keselowski said. “It is nice for Team Penske and great for Ford. If you can’t get a pole you want it to be your teammate so I am happy that he was able to get it done.”

Similar to Bristol, Logano and Keselowski are considered viable contenders Saturday night. Logano won this race a year ago, while Keselowski dominated the September Richmond event leading 383 of a possible 400 laps.

“It takes something different to make a racecar go fast in qualifying than it does in race trim,” Logano said. “What we did in qualifying won’t come into play for the race.”

Said Keselowski: “This racetrack changes so much when it takes rubber and with the weather situation tomorrow, who knows what kind of track we will have. It will change, so we will have to wait and see.”