Joey Logano’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship, earned in 2018, will always carry a certain weight as firsts tend to leave a permanent imprint. Yet nothing compares to the third title he captured last year, a championship that came in a way neither fans nor Logano himself could have reasonably predicted.
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What made it remarkable was not just the trophy, but the path that led to it. Logano recently revisited that sequence of events. He retraced how he went from being eliminated before the Round of 8, to claiming the sport’s biggest trophy once again.
The turning point docked during the final race of the Round of 12 at the Charlotte Roval. On that afternoon, Alex Bowman appeared to have done enough to secure his place in the Round of 8. Bowman crossed the line in 18th place, and when combined with his Stage 2 victory, he accumulated 29 points, comfortably positioning himself to advance.
That outcome, however, frayed after the checkered flag. Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro failed post-race inspection for missing the minimum weight requirement. NASCAR disqualified the car, relegated Bowman to 38th, and credited him with only one championship point. The penalty erased his nine-point cushion over Logano, who had finished the race in eighth place, suddenly reopening the door that seemed firmly shut.
Logano recalled the emotional swing recently. “We had a solid race, scored a lot of points, but it just wasn’t enough to move on through. I was kind of bummed, obviously. I left the track, and by the time I was halfway home, I was like, ‘It is what it is. I got to be a good loser.”
He explained that he tried to put the result behind him, even hosting a family at his house that evening, but then he got a call from his competition director. “He’s like, ‘Hey, there may be a little issue in tech for somebody.’ I’m like, ‘Oh yeah. I’ve heard this story before. That ain’t going to happen.”
“And then Roger [Penske] called me. He’s like, ‘Hey, did you hear? We’re back in.’ So, I walked out of our bedroom. And I said, ‘You’re not going to believe this sh*t. ‘We’re back,” Logano reminisced.
What followed felt like a blur as seven days after that phone call, Logano won the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a result that punched his ticket to the Championship 4. Three weeks later, he sealed the title.
In the finale at Phoenix Raceway, he delivered the kind of performance that Logano and Penske are known for. With the season on the line, Logano thrived under maximum pressure as he paced the field for 107 laps, the most he led in any race that season, and claimed his fourth win of the year. That win matched his 2022 total, the season in which he previously lifted the Cup.
By securing his third championship, the #22 driver joined an exclusive club, becoming only the 10th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win at least three titles. However, the achievement arrived with debate. Fans and insiders questioned the fairness of the format, waving metaphorical banners against the playoff system.
Yet controversy aside, the combination of the chase format and the Next Gen car has marked Team Penske’s most productive era, delivering three championships in the past four seasons.
