Joey Logano was all smiles at the Charlotte Roval last Sunday after Denny Hamlin’s unexpected moment saved his place in the playoffs. After the race, he let out a big sigh of relief and was even in good spirits, cracking a few jokes about the incident. But before the smiles, things weren’t quite as rosy.
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Ross Chastain went toe-to-toe with Logano through 109 grueling laps of the 17-turn road course, each fighting tooth and nail to stay alive. With tire wear shaping the tempo of the race, pit strategy became the name of the game. A slow right-front tire change in Logano’s camp briefly cracked the door open for Chastain, but the advantage slipped through his fingers when the Trackhouse driver was slapped with a speeding penalty 20 laps from the finish.
Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief, rolled the dice late, calling his driver in for fresh tires with 10 laps to go. Chastain gambled on track position instead, staying out on worn rubber, but as the laps ticked away, his grip gave out.
On the final lap, Hamlin slipped past, and in a desperate move through the Frontstretch chicane, Chastain tangled with him, sending both cars spinning across the line backward as Logano slipped through to safety by just 0.167 seconds. In the end, it was Hamlin’s pass that saved Logano’s playoff run.
Reflecting on the chaotic finish in his conversation with Shannon Spake, Logano said, “I think I need to start looking for good Christmas gifts for Denny… Honestly, our fate was in Denny Hamlin’s hands. If he chose not to pass the #1, we’re out. The #48 wasn’t gonna go pass him, I don’t believe so. So, I think that was the situation that was well.”
“And then when my spotter told me he pass him off at (Turn) 7, I was like ‘Okay, we’re in good shape here. and just don’t wreck…’ And then I saw them ahead of me, because we were catching them with new tires… and then I watched him go into the final chicane there, and I was like ‘Oh my god! Oh no!’ But once I saw them spinning out, I was like ‘I just gotta not wreck here,'” he continued.
Logano’s advancement casts a long shadow over the remaining contenders. The numbers speak for themselves: ten Round of 8 appearances, six trips to the Championship 4, and three Cup titles. Once again, the road to Phoenix runs through the No. 22, and for the rest of the playoff field, that’s a mountain they’ll have to climb.
