With all the criticism surrounding the current playoff format, not many have appreciated the immense skill that Joey Logano displayed in winning his third Cup Series championship. Veteran reporter Jeff Gluck was one of the minorities. He was in a recent discussion with Logano on The Teardown podcast when he shined a light on the champion’s incredible defensive play.
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He noted how the driver held off his teammate Ryan Blaney, who had a faster car, in the closing laps of the finale in Phoenix and asked,
“You know, they call Sergio Perez in F1 the Minister of Defense. But I think you’re actually the real Minister of Defense. I mean, it’s incredible what you do. How can you describe to the listeners how you were able to hang on in a situation like that?”
The method that the No. 22 driver employed stemmed from a great level of awareness about who he was up against. He noted that Blaney was simply too fast and that he could only be beaten on details.
He said, “I had to beat him on whether it’s the head game, the pressure, the details of restarts, I had to beat him on that stuff because if it’s just on raw speed, we don’t have the upper hand.”
A restart that came in Lap 259 ended up being the gap that Logano needed. He shot forward with perfection to get past Blaney, Bell, Byron, and others to clinch the top spot. But then, the job was only half done.
The defending champion wasn’t going to let his teammate off that easily. What followed then till Lap 312, the final run around the track, was a pure masterclass in defense.
Logano explains how he held off Blaney’s pressure
A key person who enabled Logano’s performance was his spotter Coleman Pressley. The driver applauded him for his incredible guidance that ended up making all the difference in Phoenix.
He said, “He told me everything I needed to know and I was able to hit a few good laps. Blaney was able to make a mistake one time. That kind of gave me enough of a gap there on the last lap.”
“But it was everything I expected. I just didn’t expect them [The No. 12 team] to be coming that fast. I thought when I got out there two seconds in the lead, I’m like, ‘All right, I’m good.’ I was like, ‘Oh god, here he [Blaney] comes!’” His admission makes it clear that the third title did not come easy.
The Team Penske teammates were miles ahead of their competitors on Sunday. Roger Penske is now the benefactor of a team that has won the Cup Series championship three consecutive times. Not many team owners can boast of having achieved this feat.
