Team Penske much better than last year

Team Penske has really improved from 2013 on the Sprint Cup side. Their Cup team, which fields Ford Fusions, consists of the #2 car of Brad Keselowski and the #22 car of Joey Logano, along with the #12 research and development car, which has appeared in three Cup races in 2014. Last year, Penske won just two Cup races, one with Keselowski, the defending Cup champion at the time, and one with Logano, his first win with the team since moving there from Joe Gibbs Racing.

But 2014 has been much better for Penske at NASCAR's top level. After 27 of 36 races, they have won eight races in the series and three of the last four. Keselowski has won five Cup races this year, including the last two at Richmond and Chicagoland. He also won five races en route to his championship two years ago, one of which was the Chicagoland Chase opener as well. Two months ago, Keselowski won at New Hampshire, where the Cup series returns on Sunday. His win last week made him the first to advance to the "Contender" round of the Chase, which begins at Kansas two weeks from Sunday.

Meanwhile, Logano is a three-time winner this year. He last went to victory lane at Bristol on August 23, and also contributed to Penske's season sweep of Richmond by winning the spring race there in April. Logano has won as many Cup races this year as he did in his first five seasons in the series combined. Still, some fans think he still hasn't quite matched the success of Keselowski this year.

Both Penske drivers have also enjoyed several front-row starts this year, and in a number of races they've even swept the front row. This shows that whether it's practice, qualifying or race day, Team Penske has gotten it right in 2014. Their off-year last season has been attributed to circumstances such as the team's move from Dodge to Ford or the new Gen-6 bodies. While Keselowski missed the Chase in 2013 as the defending series champion, Logano made it in, but never contended much. But now the Penske duo both have what it takes to compete for the Sprint Cup championship.