Winning a NASCAR Cup Series championship is one thing. But doing the same three times in a row is an achievement unlike any other. Unsurprisingly, only one team has managed to do it in recent years: Hendrick Motorsports. Since 2000, the Rick Hendrick-owned racing team has completely dominated the grid with 10 championships. Seven of these came through Jimmie Johnson. One of Johnson’s biggest feats was that he won the Cup Series trophy 5 times in a row.
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The expertise that he showed in winning championships was to the extent that speculations ran wide that it was because of him that NASCAR had to change the playoff format in 2014. One of the key reasons behind his spectacular run was the chemistry that he found with his crew and team owner. Needless to say, it is not often that such winning dynamics fall into place. But for a few teams, it nearly did.
Though RFK Racing is now on the rise, it was once a well-established force on the track. The drivers Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch led the team to back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004, but the team couldn’t repeat the same in ’05 when Greg Biffle fell short of catching up with Tony Stewart. Hendrick Motorsports itself got an opportunity to three-peat when Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson won the championships in 2020 and 2021.
But that run was cut short by Team Penske, which has now begun a run of its own. When Joey Logano won the 2022 Cup Series championship none could have guessed that a different driver from Team Penske would win it in 2023. But Ryan Blaney did and gave Roger Penske his first back-t0-back championship. What are the chances of the team three-peating?
History.
A 44th championship and Team Penske’s first back-to-back @NASCAR Cup Series Championship. pic.twitter.com/6vCPrZCi94
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) November 6, 2023
Can Team Penske’s champions repeat their magic in 2024?
Though Joey Logano’s 2023 season did not go exactly as planned, he will hold an unconventional advantage next year. The 33-year-old driver has made it to the Championship 4 on five occasions previously and all of them have been in even years. Should this sentiment hold any value, we can ascertain that he will at the very least contest for the trophy in Phoenix next year.
Ryan Blaney will be coming fresh off his newfound momentum. The 2023 playoffs saw him shaking off all the mistakes that he had been making in the regular season and emerging as a different kind of driver. If he manages to keep the tide flowing in his favor going into 2024, he will hold a very good chance of defending his championship.
It is without question that Team Penske is one of the strongest contenders on the 2024 grid. Whether they are good enough to three-peat is a question only time can answer.
