Joey Logano secured his third NASCAR Cup Series title at the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway after a tense battle with his teammate Ryan Blaney.
The No. 22 Team Penske driver beat out Blaney and William Byron to win at Phoenix and grab the title. Logano had endured a difficult regular season with just eight top 10 finishes in 26 races, securing his spot in the NASCAR Playoffs with victory at Nashville.
The 34-year-old needed to improve his form if he wanted to progress far into the playoffs, with Logano outlining his tyre test at North Wilkesboro as the ‘turning point’ for his season.
Logano progressed to the Round of 12 by winning at Atlanta, but he was eliminated before the Round of 8. However, the No. 22 driver was later reinstated in the playoffs, after Alex Bowman was disqualified from the Roval after his car did not meet the minimum weight requirement.
The Team Penske driver did not waste his second chance as his secured his place for the Championship Race at Phoenix with victory at Las Vegas, before going on to beat his playoff rivals and win the season finale to grab his third NASCAR crown.
James Hinchcliffe claims NASCAR ‘cheat’ the Championship Four up the field at Phoenix to create an exciting finish
The final result of the 2024 season has been met with widespread criticism about the playoff format, as Logano won the title despite inconsistent results, while the likes of Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell missed out on the opportunity to fight for it.
READ MORE: Kyle Larson and William Byron raced NASCAR rival ‘harder’ than anyone else in Championship 4 race
Adding to the debate, James Hinchcliffe noticed how the top three was locked out by three playoff drivers – Logano, Blaney and Byron, while Tyler Reddick finished sixth.
And speaking on his On Track Podcast with IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi, the Canadian claimed that NASCAR ‘cheat’ the final four up the field to create excitement for the season finale, and that the sport should ‘acknowledge’ this.
“I watched the last 50 laps, and I text Alex with like 30 to go, and I was just like: ‘come on man, there’s four people running for the championship and right now, three of them are running one-two-three,” he said.
“We’ve talked about this every year but they clearly cheat those cars up. They have to, which you know what, I’m for. I actually completely endorse that, because if a guy wins the championship finishing 11th, that’s really anti-climactic.
“I know that that happens in normal racing, but norma; racing don’t have playoffs systems that are designed to make it exciting until the end.
“I feel like, just acknowledge it, just be like ‘hey look, all the championship four get 40 extra horsepower, tough s—. That’s just how it works.”
Where does Joey Logano stand among the elite in NASCAR?
Logano becomes only the 10th driver to win three Cup Series titles, which cements his place on the list of elite NASCAR drivers.
Kevin Harvick says ‘everything came together’ for Logano at Phoenix as he once again showed the advantage he has over his rivals in the playoffs where it ultimately matters the most.
Harvick also claimed that Byron and Reddick can’t motivate themselves like Logano can to pull off such a feat, as the two drivers still search for their first NASCAR championship wins.
Heading into 2025, the No. 22 driver will be eager to build upon this title and push for his fourth title; something that has only been accomplished by four other drivers in history.