It has been 10 years since the playoff elimination format was introduced in the NASCAR Cup Series. No driver has won more championships in this period than Joey Logano (3). The Team Penske superstar proved to the world that he has perfected the format when he won his third championship in Phoenix this year. His next goals have become clear at this juncture.
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He has 15 wins in the playoffs and there are only two drivers who have more. First, the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick who retired at the end of the 2023 season. But this wasn’t before he secured 16 playoff wins in a career that had a total of 60 wins and one championship.
The second driver is Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time champion is THE man to beat for any driver. 29 of his 84 wins in the Cup Series were in the playoffs. But can Logano get anywhere close to this number before he retires? It is highly unlikely.
The Next Gen era has brought across a level of parity that has never been seen in the sport before. Logano needs 14 more wins, in the playoffs, to match Johnson’s feat. This is not an easy task to achieve unless the driver is at his best for the next decade.
That said, NASCAR is considering changes to the playoff format in the near future. A potential shake-up could end up favoring Logano more than things already are. But what deserves the spotlight more is that no other outfit has mastered the current format than Team Penske has. The format rewards timely wins and that is exactly what they do year after year.
Kevin Harvick on Logano’s incredible mentality
One of the prime reasons why Logano is so good in the playoffs is that he is someone who thrives under pressure. He mentioned this in his post-finale interview at Phoenix as well and Kevin Harvick made a note of it on his podcast earlier this week.
He said, “Joey just thrives on it.”
“He figures out a way to take it to a different level even to his own admission than he does in the regular season in the last ten weeks when the playoffs start.” The icon believes that Logano has a special ability to rake up wins in the playoffs.
He continued, “He’s dangerous and they let this guy back in the championship chase and they capitalized on every single moment that they kept handing him.”
Harvick is one of the few big names that Logano finds in his corner following his third title victory. Interestingly, it won’t be long before he collects more playoff wins than the retired hero.
