Joey Logano wins his third NASCAR Cup Championship in a thrilling finish

Eliminated at Charlotte’s Roval almost one month ago, Joey Logano had come to grips with missing the cut for a run in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

But a post-race inspection changed all of that in an instant and set Joey Logano on an unconventional path to the championship. A win at Las Vegas after the Charlotte Roval, securing his place in the Championship 4, was just the beginning.

This unconventional saga came to a close in the Arizona desert with Logano capturing his third NASCAR Cup Series championship and picking up his fourth career win at Phoenix and his fourth win of the season.

The win by Logano was the 36th of his NASCAR career. Logano’s win gave team owner Roger Penske a third consecutive championship, with Logano winning in 2022 and Ryan Blaney claiming the title last season.

With three Cup Championships, Logano joins NASCAR legends Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart.

Only four drivers have more titles: Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

After a crucial restart on Lap 259 of the 312-lap event, Logano charged from sixth place, overtaking contenders like Blaney, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Championship 4 leader William Byron. He took the lead on Lap 260 and held off Blaney, who came within 0.167 seconds over the final laps.

In the end, Logano narrowly edged out Blaney for the win by 0.330 seconds.

“I love the Playoffs, love it, man,” Logano said post-race. “It was a tough restart, and I got in front of Blaney. He was fast on the long runs, and it took everything I had to keep him behind.”

Logano credited his team, calling them mentally tough and resilient: “I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I’ve got the best team, and together, we show up when it matters most.”

The race wasn’t without challenges for Logano’s team. Pit road issues caused his No. 22 Ford to lose four spots during a caution, and mid-race, Austin Cindric’s jackman filled in for Logano’s usual crew member due to illness.

After the final restart, Logano took the lead with help from his spotter, Coleman Pressley, who guided him on where to run and how to keep Blaney behind. Logano led 107 laps, second only to Bell’s 143 laps.

Behind Logano and Blaney, William Byron finished third, while Tyler Reddick was the last among the Championship 4, taking sixth place. Following the final restart, Blaney moved from fourth to second after passing Larson on Lap 277 and Byron on Lap 290. Despite his efforts, Blaney couldn’t close the gap on Logano.

“I had to push hard to get past Larson and Byron,” Blaney shared. “By the time I got close to Joey, I’d used up a lot, and I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Larson and Bell rounded out the top five, while Bubba Wallace, Elliott, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez completed the top ten.

The race even had some comical turns to add to the championship drama.

During a restart after Stage 1, the pace car slid into sand barrels near pit road, causing a nearly six-minute red flag period.

In the post-race, Logano looked puzzled, searching for his crew, who were running from pit stall No. 24 on the backstretch due to a pre-race inspection failure. While the race produced a three time champion, it concluded several significant chapters for several drivers and teams.

Martin Truex Jr. finished 17th in his last full-time race for Joe Gibbs Racing, while Kyle Busch’s 19-year winning streak ended with a 21st-place finish. Sunday’s race also marked the last run into the desert sunset for Stewart-Haas Racing. Noah Gragson finished 12th as the team’s highest-placed driver.

Harrison Burton’s ran in his last race for the Wood Brothers and Sunday’s race signified the end of FedEx’s sponsorship for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. The Joe Gibbs Racing team had enjoyed one of NASCAR’s longest running sponsorships until this year when it was announced that FedEx would end its sponsorship commitment to the team.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race

Phoenix Raceway | Avondale, Arizona
Sunday, November 10, 2024

1. (2) Joey Logano (P), Ford, 312.
2. (17) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 312.
3. (8) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 312.
4. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 312.
5. (7) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 312.
6. (10) Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, 312.
7. (29) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 312.
8. (5) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 312.
9. (24) Chris Buescher, Ford, 312.
10. (34) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 312.
11. (14) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 312.
12. (21) Noah Gragson, Ford, 312.
13. (11) Austin Cindric, Ford, 312.
14. (16) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 312.
15. (27) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 312.
16. (9) Harrison Burton, Ford, 312.
17. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 312.
18. (15) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 312.
19. (3) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 312.
20. (32) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 311.
21. (25) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 311.
22. (19) Erik Jones, Toyota, 311.
23. (22) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 311.
24. (39) Josh Berry #, Ford, 311.
25. (26) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 311.
26. (23) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 310.
27. (36) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 310.
28. (13) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 310.
29. (12) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 310.
30. (18) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 310.
31. (35) Michael McDowell, Ford, 309.
32. (20) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 309.
33. (30) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 309.
34. (31) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 308.
35. (37) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 306.
36. (38) Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 302.
37. (33) Ryan Preece, Ford, 302.
38. (40) Jeb Burton(i), Chevrolet, 294.
39. (28) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, Accident, 247.
40. (6) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, Accident, 1.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 106.203 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 16 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.330 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 33 laps.
Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers.

Rod Mullins is the editor of Dickenson Media.