After a subpar regular season, Joey Logano rose to the occasion during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and won his third series championship for Team Penske.
Logano has won more series titles than any active driver and his championship gave team owner Roger Penske his third championship in a four year span and his second in a row.
Logano won the opening race of the playoffs at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and was facing elimination after the round of 12 ended at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, but received a pass into the round of eight when Alex Bowman was penalized.
The driver of the No. 22 Ford promptly won the first race in the round of eight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earned a spot in the Championship Four.
Facing off against his teammate and reigning champion Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick in the final race at Phoenix Raceway, Logano led 107 laps and held off Blaney to win the race and the championship.
Logano’s team owner, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Penske has now earned five NASCAR Cup Series championships including the last three consecutively between Logano (2022 and 2024) and Ryan Blaney (2023).
“From my perspective, Joey Logano was a winner when he came to our team in 2013,’’ Penske said. “We’re so proud of all our teams. Racing is a common thread through our businesses. It’s teamwork. It’s pressure. It’s integrity. It’s transparency. And this has built the Penske brand. And we’re thrilled to be here.’’
The 34-year-old Connecticut native, father-of-three and perpetual race and title contender once again proved why competitors can never take him lightly, never count him out. He is not one to mince words and is absolutely convinced he can win every single time he climbs into his No. 22 Team Penske Ford to race.
“I knew we were capable, this team and myself and the more pressure I could put on myself the better I’m going to be,” Logano said. “I don’t know what that is, but it seems like the Playoffs are always better for the 22 and it’s not just myself that thrives under pressure, it’s my whole team. And it’s contagious. If we can bring that confidence and believe it, we are very dangerous.
“We’ve got a really great group all the way through, and our pit crew delivered in the end when it needed to,” he added. “I’m so fortunate to be in this car.”
The Logano and Blaney one-two finish even gave Penske a new accolade — rare at this point in his career of mega-accomplishment — marking the first time in the championship team’s history it had finished one-two in the NACAR Cup Series standings.
“It’s just one thing, it’s the people, the ones that have worked so hard with us.” Penske said when asked what it was about his team’s perpetual run to success.
Logano won four times, while Blaney picked up a trio of victories in his run to second in the standings, including a victory in the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway playoff race that punched his ticket to the Championship Four for the second consecutive season.
Byron and Reddick each won three times before winding up third and fourth, respectively, in the standings.
Kyle Larson led the series in victories with six triumphs in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet. He finished sixth in the standings.
Martin Truex Jr., the 2016 Cup Series champion, ran his final full season winding up ninth in the standings after a winless campaign for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Carson Hocevar earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, finishing 21st for Spire Motorsports.
Stewart Haas Racing closed its doors at the end of the season. The team one only one race (Chase Briscoe) among its four cars during its final Cup Series campaign.
The Points
- Joey Logano 5,040
- Ryan Blaney 5,035
- William Byron 5,034
- Tyler Reddick 5,031
- Christopher Bell 2,412
- Kyle Larson 2,378
- Chase Elliott 2,342
- Denny Hamlin 2,328
- Alex Bowman 2,318
- Martin Truex Jr. 2,257
Winners
Kyle Larson 6
Joey Logano 4
Ryan Blaney 3
William Byron 3
Tyler Reddick 3
Christopher Bell 3
Denny Hamlin 3
Chase Elliott 1
Alex Bowman 1
Austin Cindric 1
Daniel Suarez 1
Brad Keselowski 1
Chase Briscoe 1
Harrison Burton 1
Chris Buescher 1
Ross Chastain 1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1
Austin Dillon 1