Joey Logano Defends Against Teammate Ryan Blaney to Win Third Cup Series Title

After a strong afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, Joey Logano has joined rarified air in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The 34-year-old driver was able to secure the victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at the one-mile oval in Avondale, Arizona, and in the process collect his third championship at NASCAR’s top level.

In doing so, Logano becomes the 10th driver in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series to have three or more championships, joining Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, and Tony Stewart.

The Middletown, Connecticut native took control of the event after the race’s final restart, making a three-wide pass on Christopher Bell and fellow Championship 4 driver William Byron, as the two were battling side-by-side for the race lead.

From that point forward during the race’s final run, Logano continued to extend his margin, growing it over two seconds before Ryan Blaney, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, managed to get through for second.

Then, similar to last weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway, the pursuit began, as Blaney, with a cleary-superior racecar, began taking chunks out of his teammate’s advantage. After reaching the rear bumper of the No. 22 Ford Mustang, Blaney just couldn’t get close enough.

“I love the playoffs. I love it, man. What a race,” Logano said post-race. “What a Team Penske battle there at the end. Had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. And he had a lot of long run speed there, and it was all I had there to hold him off.”

When the checkered flag was displayed for the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse, the final margin of victory (MOV) was 0.330 seconds, over his teammate Blaney. William Byron, who finished third, was more than five seconds behind.

“Coleman Pressley,” Logano said when asked how he was able to keep his teammate behind him. “He was telling me where he was. He was up there telling me the best lanes to run. And it’s a balance of putting dirty air on him and running the fastest laps for my Ford. We just got a little too tight there at the end and couldn’t wrap the bottom as well as I wanted to.”

Blaney would have to settle for a runner-up, not just in Sunday’s event, but also in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, would take home third in both the results and points.

Kyle Larson was the highest non-playoff driver in the running order in Sunday’s 312-lap contest, finishing fourth place for Hendrick Motorsports, while Christopher Bell, who led a race-high 143 laps, rounded out the top-five.

Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, teammates at 23XI Racing this season, finished in the sixth and seventh positions, while Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, and Daniel Suarez each collected top-10 results to round out the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.

In his final event as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor, Martin Truex, Jr. brought home a 17th-place, lead-lap finish for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The completion of Sunday’s event wraps up the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign and leaves an 84-day period where cars will not be on the racetrack. The NASCAR Cup Series will return in 2025 on February 2, at the historic Bowman-Gray Stadium.

Photo: Aaron Giffin, Racing America