Team Penske fielded a full-time NASCAR XFINITY Series ride in 2016 with multiple drivers behind the wheel of the No. 22 Ford. The team, one of the most well-known racing organizations in the world, also fielded a second entry in four races. Their driver stable last season included Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Alex Tagliani.
Keselowski had the most starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for Team Penske. The 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion made 15 starts in the No. 22 Ford. Keselowski’s first XFINITY Series race would be Atlanta where started the event in seventh and led 28 of the 163 laps in the Heads Up Georgia 250. He would finish the event at the 1.5-mile oval in sixth.
The Michigan native would make starts in the following two races at Las Vegas and Phoenix. He would not lead any laps in these two events and would take his No. 22 Ford to a 15th and a ninth-place finish. He would take the next race off at Auto Club Speedway in California and return at Texas Motor Speedway. At Texas, where Keselowski holds two previous victories, he would start eighth and finish the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 in third.
He would take race seven off and run the No. 22 Ford at Richmond International Raceway. Using momentum from his run at Texas, Keselowski would qualify eighth and finish the ToyotaCare 250 in ninth. His next appearance in the series would come six races later at Iowa Speedway. The 32-year old went into the 0.875-mile oval looking to snatch his fourth win at the track in five starts. Keselowski started the U.S. Cellular 250 in seventh and took his ride to a third-place finish.
Keselowski would return to the series at Kentucky Speedway one race later in July. He would start 10th and finish in the same spot. In the next race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Keselowski would start third and finish right where he started in the AutoLotto 200. He would take the next race off and return to Iowa Speedway in race No. 19. At Iowa, where he finished third the last time out, Keselowski would leave there with an eighth-place finish.
The very next weekend Keselowski would start second at Watkins Glen International. The starting spot wouldn’t translate as the team would finish 24th on the leaderboard. He would once again take the next event off and return at Bristol Motor Speedway where Keselowski led 67 of the 308 laps. On lap 297, Keselowski would be involved in an incident that also involved Ty Dillon and Kyle Busch over in turn three. He would then take his No. 22 ride to a 12th-place finish.
He would make starts in four more races with the next being at Richmond International Raceway. Keselowski started sixth and took his No. 22 Fleetwood RV / REV Group Ford to a third-place finish. Four races later at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Michigan native would start 17th and finish ninth on the board when the checkered flag waved. At Texas Motor Speedway, he would start on the pole and lead 145 of the 200 laps. Despite starting on the pole and leading 145 circuits, Keselowski would finish one spot shy of the victory in second. The very next week at Phoenix, Keselowski would finish ninth in his final start of the season.
In total, he would finish out the season with five top five and 12 top 10 finishes. Throughout his 15 starts, Keselowski would complete 99.7 percent of the laps and have an average finish of 8.3.
Joey Logano would make 13 appearances in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for Team Penske. Two of those starts, at Watkins Glen and Charlotte, Logano would pilot a second entry for the team in the No. 12 Ford.
Logano’s first start in the No. 22 Ford came in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Logano started eighth and led the field for 40 of the 120 laps. Despite leading laps, he would finish one spot shy of the victory in second. He would take the next five races off and return at Bristol Motor Speedway in the No. 22 ride. Logano would start sixth and finish the event in ninth.
His next XFINITY Series start would be a race later at Talladega Superspeedway. Logano would start eighth and lead 19 of the 116 laps in the Sparks Energy 300. His day would turn on the final lap when he would tangle with Elliott Sadler and Blake Koch on the frontstretch. The Connecticut native would finish all the way back in 27th.
Logano would make starts in the next four consecutive races at Dover, Charlotte, Pocono and Michigan. His best finish across these four races would come in the Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He would lead 58 of the 206 laps and finish third.
He would take one more race off and return at Daytona International Speedway. The final restrictor-plate event for the XFINITY Series would result in a fourth-place run for Logano. The series veteran would return in race 18 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Discount Tire on the No. 22 Ford. Logano started the Lilly Diabetes 250 in fifth and took home an eighth-place finish.
The next start for Logano at Watkins Glen would result in trip to victory lane. Logano dominated the Zippo 200 in the second part-time entry for Team Penske in the No. 12 Snap-On Tools Ford. He would lead 67 of the 82 laps to score his first of two victories in the series in 2016.
The next time out at Chicagoland Speedway, six races after his win at Watkins Glen International, Logano would start ninth and finish the day in seventh. He would even lead the field for five laps in the Drive for Safety 300 at the 1.5-mile oval.
Two races later, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, champagne would fly again for the No. 12 part-time entry after starting in third. Logano led the final 12 laps of the race to score his second NASCAR XFINITY Series win of the year. It would mark his 27th career win in the series.
Logano’s final XFINITY Series race of the season would come in race 30 at Kansas Speedway. Logano would start 11th in the No. 22 Ford led by crew chief Greg Irwin and lead two of the 200 laps. Logano would eventually take his ride to a fourth-place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300.
Logano finished the year with seven top five and 12 top 10 finishes. He held an average finish of 6.5 and completed 99.9 percent of the laps throughout his 13 starts. Across those starts – Logano led 256 of the 1,787 laps he ran in 2016.
Ryan Blaney joined Team Penske for eight NASCAR XFINITY Series races in 2016. Blaney, running in his first ever full-time season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with the Wood Brother’s Racing team, had 43 previous starts in the XFINITY Series in the past. Blaney captured four victories, 21 top five and 33 top 10 finishes through those starts since 2012.
Blaney’s first dip in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2016 came at Auto Club Speedway. The North Carolina native started 11th and finished the TreatMyClot.com 300 presented by Janssen in 20th. His next race in the series wouldn’t come until six races later at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Driving the second part-time entry for Team Penske, Blaney would start 13th and take his No. 12 Snap-On Tools Ford to a 16th-place finish.
With the 20th and 16th place finishes out of the way, Blaney would finish the rest of his races inside the top 10. His next event for Team Penske would be at Kentucky Speedway in the No. 12 once again. He would start sixth and take his No. 12 Ford to an eighth-place finish. That eighth-place momentum would carry over to his next race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course five races later. The 75-lap event on the road course would result in a third-place finish for Blaney in the No. 22 car.
With a seventh-place finish at Darlington, Blaney would finish out his final three races for Team Penske all inside the top five. His best of these would come at Kentucky where he led 10 of the 200 laps and sat third on the leaderboard after 200 laps of racing. In his final XFINITY Series start of the season at Homestead, Blaney started and ended the Ford EcoBoost 300 in fourth.
After eight starts, Blaney finished the year with four top five and six top 10 finishes. He held an average finish of 8.1 and completed 99.8 percent of the laps. Blaney led 23 of the 1,379 laps he participated in.
Alex Tagliani, a well-known driver that has competed in all types of racing in North America, made one start for Team Penske in 2016. Tagliani entered this one-off having seven previous XFINITY Series starts since 2009. Those have resulted in four top five and four top 10 finishes. He also started on the pole in three of those races.
Driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford at Road America, Tagliani captured his fourth career pole in the series. Tagliani would go on and lead 17 of the 48 laps in the Road America 180. Despite leading the field for 17 circuits – Tagliani would finish the day in seventh.
Team Penske will have two full-time entries in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2017. The No. 22 ride will be split between Keselowski, Logano and Blaney with Discount Tire serving as the primary sponsor in an unknown number of races. The company, which have sponsored Team Penske in the series since 2010, will serve as an associate sponsor on the No. 2 and 22 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rides.
A breakdown of the number of races for each driver has yet to be announced.
A driver and sponsor for the second full-time XFINITY Series entry is still to be determined. Team Penske will utilize this second full-time operation to allow a Ford Performance driver to build his or her career.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.