Joey Logano's late race tire strategy came up short in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas. The three-time champion finished P6 in the Round of 8 playoff opener and remains below the elimination line.Logano started on the front row after a bold two-tire stop on the final restart, but leaves Sin City seventh in the standings and 24 points shy of the transfer line with Talladega and Martinsville still to run. Speaking to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass after the race, the Team Penske driver explained:“Well it’s a roll of the dice thing. But I mean, I had a chance, right? Gosh, like the first restart. I mean, at the point of caution, my nose is ahead of the 19... and then the last restart, I just needed a push on the back stretch from the 48 or him to go three wide on the 19. Do something besides pushing and he pushed him. I mean, the only hope is to get clean air and run and hide. But, once we didn't get the clean air then it's just try not to bleed spots.”The deciding moment came on Lap 232, when William Byron’s crash forced teams to the pits. Joey Logano's crew chief, Paul Wolfe, made a bold call to take only right-side tires to gain track position. The No. 22 Ford gained 11 spots and started on the front row alongside Chase Briscoe, also on two fresh compounds.A multi-car incident on the first corner of the restart bunched the field again, saving both drivers’ tires for the 14-lap sprint to the finish. But with Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and JGR’s Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell on fresh four-tires behind them, the advantage quickly evaporated.Larson overtook Logano within two laps. Hamlin followed four laps later and went on to take his 60th career Cup victory, locking himself into the finale at Phoenix. Joey Logano admitted that the gamble was intentional, but the track advantage didn’t hold.Team Penske left needing a win after Vegas, despite Joey Logano's top-10 finishTeam Penske's Ryan Blaney (L) speaks to Joey Logano at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Source: GettySunday’s result was a mixed bag for Team Penske. While Joey Logano got his first top-10 finish in three races, the reality of the standings remains painful. The weekend was worse for teammate Ryan Blaney. He suffered a DNF at Las Vegas, which puts him in the final position below Logano, 31 points adrift.Team Penske now needs a win or two strong finishes in the remaining races in this round to advance. With Talladega’s unpredictability and Martinsville’s short-track pressure looming, that is a hard ask. But time and again, Penske has overcome adversity late in the season. It is largely due to their form on these playoff tracks.Logano has three wins at Talladega and 11 top-10s. Blaney, on the other hand, also has three wins at the superspeedway and has been more consistent in the Next Gen car.At Martinsville, both drivers are among the best in the league with a 4.6 average finish for Blaney and 5.6 for Logano. That bodes well for them, as Penske will regroup and aim to show why they have won the last three championships.