Joey Logano wins Phoenix finale for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Joey Logano won his third NASCAR championship on Sunday with a relentless drive at Phoenix Raceway that gave Team Penske its third major motorsports title in less than a month.
Logano held off Penske teammate Ryan Blaney over the final 20 laps to beat him to 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 to 2010.
Instead, Logano became the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win three or more championships and broke a tie with Kyle Busch as the only active drivers 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’s truly special.”
It was the first time in Team Penske history the organization finished 1-2 in the championship. And, it came after Roger 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.
“At least a Penske car won it,” said Blaney, who admitted to be “worn out” at the end of the race.
It also gave Penske and Ford three consecutive Cup Series championships. Logano won in 2022 and Blaney won last year.
“1-2 for Team Penske, three championships in a row, can’t be more proud of this team,” Logano said. “I don’t know if I’m the best driver but I’ve got the best team. And together, we’re very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most.”
The finale was winner-take-all to the highest finisher between Logano, Blaney, William Byron in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and 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 was sixth.
Logano, a 34-year-old Connecticut native, led 107 laps in the dominating win that Blaney made closer than expected in the final laps.
But, his very presence in the final four was controversial as Logano was eliminated from the playoffs after the second round only to be reinstated when Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports failed post-race inspection at Charlotte.
Logano was put back in the field of eight, went to Las Vegas Motor Speedway the next week and won to become the first driver locked into the championship race. It gave his No. 22 team three weeks to prepare for Phoenix.
“Our team is better under pressure,” Logano said. “The race started in Vegas for us. The amount of work and effort that went into building this race car right here, the amount of time, I don’t think anyone works harder than us. We were up at 6 in the morning this morning going over stuff. The guys just want it bad and I’m glad we delivered.”