AVONDALE, Ariz. — Joey Logano, who was eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the second round, got a second chance when another competitor was disqualified.
He took the opportunity.
Logano was added to the quarterfinals after Alex Bowman’s disqualification and immediately traveled to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the opening round three match. That makes Logano the first driver to participate in Sunday’s winner-takes-all finale at Phoenix Raceway, having spent three weeks preparing his Ford for the title race.
He used a near-perfect drive to hold off teammate Ryan Blaney for his third NACAR Cup Series championship, giving Team Penske its third major motorsports title in less than a month and its third consecutive NASCAR title.
Logano actually called for his shot after qualifying on the second Saturday, confidently admitting his Cup Series title was lost.
“That’s right. I think our car is sturdy. I’ve put it down now.” Logano boasted. “We just have to put our foot on their neck. We feel pretty strong about our team, and in these types of pressure situations, we feel really solid about our team in these moments.”
It may not have been the way coach Roger Penske expressed it, but it showed team owners just how ruthless a team leader can be.
“I might have used different words, but that’s okay. If I win, I guess I can say whatever I want,” Penske said.
Logano held off Blaney over the final 20 laps, beating him for the Cup Series title by 0.330 seconds. Blaney was trying to become the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson won five straight from 2006-2010.
Instead, Logano became the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win three or more championships. Kyle Busch is the only active driver with multiple titles.
“I love the playoffs. I really love them,” Logano said. “It’s a great team, and it was a real Penske battle at the end. Three people? It’s really special.”
For the first time in Team Penske history, the organization finished 1-2 in the championship. And it comes after Penske’s sports car team in IMSA won the title last month and his World Endurance Championship team won the title last weekend in Bahrain.
Roger Penske said he feared his two drivers would collide with each other on the final lap, ending both of their title hopes. He also praised longtime sponsor Shell-Pennzoil, who rode the car of Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden to victory at Penske in May.
Penske also deferred too much credit for the team’s success.
“It’s all about people,” Penske said. “My name may be on the door, but it’s about people who make a difference and we definitely have them on this team.”
Blaney was exhausted after the race and despite the disappointment, he was thrilled with the Penske organization.
“At least the Penske car won,” Blaney said. “They had a great playoff run and we’re happy. If we’re going to compete with someone, we’re happy that person won the championship, and Roger is 1-2, and Roger has won three in a row. , it’s amazing, it’s Ford.”
Penske and Ford have won three consecutive Cup Series championships. Logano won in 2022 and Blaney won last year.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Team Penske for winning their third straight championship,” said Logano. “I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I have the best team. And together we are very versatile and can show up when it matters most.”
The finale was a winner-take-all between Logano, Blaney, William Byron in the Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports, Tyler Reddick of the 23XI Racing team owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. .
Byron finished third in the race and Reddick finished sixth. It was Byron’s second consecutive appearance in the finale and Reddick’s first.
“It makes you hungry and at the same time gives you more experience with what you need,” said Byron, a Daytona 500 winner. “I think this style of track is tough for us. We’ve made a lot of progress this year, but we still have a long way to go. If we can make even a little bit of progress on this style of track, I know we can do that. Things are all good, so we can put it all together.”
Reddick, who had been subdued all week compared to his fellow title contenders, did not lead a lap and left Jordan pacing behind the pit wall for much of the race.
“Michael was proud of our team’s efforts all year long,” Reddick said. “Fight well. We didn’t make any mistakes that could have ruined ourselves. We fought as hard as we could.”
Four title contenders finished in the top six. Reddick followed Hendrick’s Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, who led a career-best 143 laps after being disqualified for a safety violation in last week’s finale at Martinsville. Instead Byron took his place and Bell claimed he had been cheated out of his chance to race for the title.
Logano, a 34-year-old from Connecticut, led 107 laps as Blaney took a closer-than-expected victory in the final lap.
“Our team is better under pressure,” Logano said. “The race started in Las Vegas for us. The effort and time that went into building this race car right here, I don’t think there’s anyone who works harder than us. We woke up at 6 this morning and got stuff in the morning. “People want it, so I’m glad we delivered.”
