Joey Logano got here into this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Sequence championship-decider in Phoenix assured that his expertise and preparation would in the end make the distinction. He was proper.
Logano nailed a restart with 52 laps remaining, vaulting from fifth to first in two laps, after which held off a surging Ryan Blaney over the closing laps to seal his third championship and provides Group Penske its third title in as a few years.
THE NO. 22 WITH A HUGE MOVE TO TAKE THE LEAD! #Championship4 pic.twitter.com/MDvDlQhY3W
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 10, 2024
“To have the ability to race (Blaney) to the top, it was enjoyable,” Logano mentioned. “However truthfully, I knew that he was going to be our hardest competitors going into the weekend. I mentioned that to our guys. I mentioned, Blaney goes to have the pace. We’ve obtained to beat him on the small print. That’s the place we have now the benefit over them. However the pace, no, he’s obtained turned up fairly excessive.
“All the pieces labored out nicely, and the small print on the finish, the restart and getting on the market and managing, that was actually the distinction.”
His day wasn’t with out a few curveballs. A slight delay along with his right-front tire price him 4 spots throughout his first pit cease. Later, his jackman took in poor health and wanted to be faraway from the pit wall, prompting an intra-Penske crew scramble that resulted in Austin Cindric’s jackman shifting throughout to the No.22.
Logano’s path to the playoffs was initially closed when he missed the cutoff within the Spherical of 12, however then reopened when Hendrick Motorsport’s Alex Bowman was disqualified from the Charlotte race resulting from his automobile failing a post-race technical inspection.
The Phoenix win was Logano’s fourth of the season and the title now locations him in the identical firm as Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart as a three-time champion.
Blaney was left behind whereas Logano shot off on the final restart, however his No. 12 automobile had loads of pace and he made comparatively simple work of closing down the hole to Logano because the pair made their means by way of visitors. Truly getting previous him was one other matter although, and regardless of exploring each conceivable line by way of the ultimate few laps, Logano was in a position to maintain him in examine.
“Worn out,” Blaney informed NBC Sports activities. “Simply couldn’t fairly get there. Tried actually arduous to take action. The restart didn’t actually work out. [Logano] obtained too distant from me. Took some time to move a few guys and simply couldn’t get by Joey, however congrats to him and the remainder of the No. 22 workforce. They put collectively a fantastic playoffs. If I’m going to race anyone, I’m pleased it’s him for the championship. And a 1-2 for Roger [Penske], three in a row for Roger is wonderful for him and Ford. Simply didn’t have sufficient on the finish. Heck of a battle.”
Williams Byron made it a 1-2-3 for Championship 4 drivers, however his No. 24 Hendrick Chevy didn’t have a solution to the pace of the main Penskes. His finest probability got here when he stayed out longer earlier than making his last cease, which might have given him more energizing tires for the run to a flag, however a warning instantly after he returned to the monitor allowed the opposite contenders to pit underneath yellow and negate his benefit.
The opposite championship hopeful, 23XI’s Tyler Reddick, didn’t have the tempo to match his rivals all afternoon and needed to accept sixth.
The race was largely incident-free, with simply two cautions for accidents. The primary got here early, when Ty Gibbs walled the No.54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the second lap. The second, on lap 150 – simply after Byron’s cease – was prompted by Zane Smith hitting the boundaries within the No.71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Not desirous to be overshadowed by the race vehicles, a tempo automobile additionally ushered in a number of laps underneath yellows when it made a really late transfer to tug off the monitor, obtained out of form and took out a big plastic barrel.
Martin Truex Jr led some laps at the beginning of his last race as a full-time competitor, however he pale because the race progressed and completed a dissatisfied seventeenth.
