Why Ford's dominance should terrify every Toyota and Chevy team amid Team Penske's supremacy at NHMS

Team Penske’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was more than just another playoff victory. It was a warning shot. While Toyota’s strength defined the opening round of the postseason, Ford flipped the script at Loudon.

Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and technical ally Josh Berry combined to control every stage, every lap, and the finish itself. For Toyota and Chevrolet teams, the Mobil 1 301 wasn’t just one bad day, but a sign that Ford’s best are peaking at exactly the right time.

Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas swept all three playoff races in the Round of 16, winning every stage and leaving Chevrolet’s Hendrick Motorsports scrambling for answers. Fords showed flashes but couldn’t match Toyota’s pace.

Coming to New Hampshire, where Toyota had owned the Next Gen era with three straight wins, six straight stage victories, and a staggering 83% of laps led, the expectation was more of the same. Instead, the Penske camp killed the streak and did so in overwhelming fashion.

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How the Team Penske Fords dominated New Hampshire

Team Penske's Ryan Blaney (12) after winning the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire. Source: Imagn

Ryan Blaney had the sixth-fastest single-lap time in practice, but over the long runs, his No. 12 Ford was unmatched. He topped the 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-lap averages. Those averages point to who will control sustained periods of the race once tire wear and handling balance come into play.

Josh Berry, running the Penske-allied Wood Brothers No. 21, was second-best over the 20, 25, and 30 lap charts, while Joey Logano was top five in the longer averages too. Even before qualifying, the numbers showed Ford had the edge on long-run speed that defines New Hampshire.

That carried straight into qualifying. Logano won the pole with Berry and Blaney lining up second and third, giving Team Penske a lockout of the front row. The rest of the playoff grid struggled to keep pace, with Berry’s early 29.354 lap standing as the benchmark. Only William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet showed comparable speed, qualifying fifth, while Austin Cindric’s Penske entry never quite found the rhythm.

Joey Logano (22) and Ryan Blaney (12) in the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire. Source: Getty

When the green flag dropped, the preparation turned into outright control. Fords led 273 of the 301 laps. Blaney led for 116 laps, collecting a Stage 1 along the way. Logano led a race-high 147 laps and won Stage 2. Berry chipped in with 10 laps and held on to a runner-up finish as Blaney finished P1, and Logano P4.

Only Byron offered resistance, finishing P3, but Toyota never factored up front. For JGR’s usual flat-track aces, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin led zero laps at Loudon, on a weekend where Toyota would have expected to extend its dominance. In one afternoon, the Fords solved the flat-track puzzle that had haunted them in the Next Gen car.

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Is Team Penske's flat-track mastery a sign of a championship run?

Team Penske's Joey Logano (L) with Ryan Blaney before the Daytona 500. Source: Imagn

The victory at Loudon wasn’t just about one race. It was a reminder of where Ford thrives when it matters most. Team Penske has won each of the last three championships - Joey Logano in 2022 and 2024, Ryan Blaney in 2023 - all by delivering in the playoffs on tracks just like New Hampshire.

This year, Blaney looks primed to extend that streak. Over 29 races, the No. 12 Ford has ranked first across NASCAR Insights’ performance categories: outright speed, long-run pace, and passing. He already has five straight semifinal appearances, and now he’s adding the form of a driver capable of going back-to-back.

Logano, meanwhile, has endured a quieter season statistically but is stringing together his best run of form this year, with three consecutive top-five finishes heading into Kansas. For a driver who has twice captured titles by peaking in the playoffs, that trend line is ominous for rivals.

The 2025 NASCAR Playoff Round of 12 drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Source: Getty

The playoff schedule only tilts things further in Ford’s favor. Kansas, up next, is a 1.5-mile intermediate where Team Penske has traditionally been strong. The Round of 8 begins in Las Vegas, another intermediate. Martinsville, though a short track, demands corner entry and exit discipline similar to Loudon, and Penske cars just proved themselves there. And Phoenix, the championship finale, sits as a 1-mile intermediate that Penske has mastered for three straight years.

It all points to the same truth: when the playoffs shift to flat and intermediate tracks, Team Penske rises. Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have had the upper hand in speed and headlines for much of the season, but in the business end, it’s the yellow and white Fords that have consistently closed.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl