Joey Logano wins Phoenix final for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Joey Logano was eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the second round and was given a second chance when another competitor was disqualified.

He seized the opportunity.

Logano was added to the round of eight following Alex Bowman’s disqualification and immediately headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the round three opener. It made Logano the first driver to advance to Sunday’s winner-take-all final at Phoenix Raceway, with three weeks to prepare his Ford for the title race.

He capitalized on his third NACAR Cup Series championship, using a near-flawless drive to hold off teammate Ryan Blaney and give Team Penske its third major motorsports title in less than a month and third straight NASCAR title.

Logano actually got his shot after qualifying on the second Saturday, when he confidently acknowledged it was his Cup Series title he would lose.

“Yes, I do. I feel like our car is strong. We got them down now,” Logano boasted. “We just have to put our foot on their throat. We feel pretty strong about our team, and these types of pressure situations we feel are really solid for our team in these moments.”

It may not have been how boss Roger Penske would have put it, but it showed the team owner how ruthless his team leader can be.

“I may have used different words, but that’s OK,” Penske said. “If you win, you can say whatever you want, I guess.”

Logano held off Blaney for the final twenty laps, beating him by 0.330 seconds for the Cup Series title. Blaney was trying to become the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row between 2006 and 2010.

Instead, Logano became the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win three or more championships. Kyle Busch is the only other active driver with multiple titles.

“I love the playoffs, I love it man,” Logano said. “What a team, what a Penske battle there at the end. Three of them? That is really special.”

It was the first time in Team Penske history that the organization finished 1-2 in the championship. And it came 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 worried in the closing laps that his two drivers would collide, ending title hopes for both. He also praised longtime sponsor Shell-Pennzoil, which was in Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden’s car for his May victory for Penske.

Penske also delayed taking too much of the credit for the team’s success.

“It’s all about the people,” Penske said. “My name may be on the door, but it’s all about the people who make the difference and we certainly have them in this team.”

Blaney was exhausted after the race and despite his disappointment, he was excited for the Penske organization.

“At least a Penske car won,” Blaney said. “They’ve had a great play-off performance and we’re happy. If we’re going to race someone, I’m happy it was him for the championship, and happy that I’m 1-2 for Roger, three in a row for Roger, super great, and Ford.

Penske and Ford have won three consecutive Cup Series championships. Logano won in 2022 and Blaney last year.

“One-two for Team Penske, three championships in a row, we couldn’t be more proud of this team,” 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 final was a winner-take-all for the highest finisher between Logano, Blaney, William Byron in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and Tyler Reddick of the 23XI Racing team of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.

Byron finished third in the race and Reddick was sixth. It was Byron’s second straight appearance in the final, first ahead of Reddick.

“It makes you hungrier, but also just gives you more experience in what it takes,” said Byron, the winner of the Daytona 500. “I feel like this track style has been tough for us and we’ve made a lot of progress this year , but there is still more to go. If we can step up on these types of tracks, I know we’re so good at all the other songs, and we can bring 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 just proud of our team’s efforts all year long,” Reddick said. “Put a good fight. We didn’t make any mistakes that prevented us from making it. We fought as hard as we could.”

The four title contenders finished in the top six, with Reddick behind Hendrick’s Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, who led 143 laps after being disqualified from the finals at Martinsville last week due to a safety violation. Byron took his place instead and Bell insisted he had been denied the opportunity to race for the title.

Logano, a 34-year-old from Connecticut, led 107 laps in the dominant win that came closer than expected to Blaney in the closing laps.

But his presence in the final four was controversial as Logano was eliminated from the play-offs after the second round. He was reinstated before Las Vegas, where he won and gave the No. 22 team three weeks to prepare for Phoenix.

“Our team is better under pressure,” Logano said. “The race started for us in Vegas. The amount of work and effort that went into building this race car here, the amount of time, I don’t think anyone works harder than us. This morning we got up at 6am to go over things. The boys just really want it and I’m happy we made it happen.”

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