Joey Logano was never supposed to be in the position he finds himself in right now. Had it not been for Alex Bowman’s disqualification after the Charlotte Roval race, the Team Penske man would not have made it into the Round of 8. However, he took full advantage of the opportunity, won in Vegas on Sunday, and will now challenge for the Cup Series championship in Phoenix.
Advertisement
Bob Pockrass is one of the most prominent motorsports journalists today. He’d predicted at the start of the season that Logano would not make it into the playoffs. The No. 22 driver was sure to point that out with a laugh in the Vegas post-race press conference. Pockrass acknowledged the friendly jab and admitted on social media that his prediction had gone wrong.
The two-time champion said, “I keep looking at Bob up here. He thought I wasn’t going to make the playoffs this year…who’s laughing now? (laughs) That is good motivation though, I appreciate it. I needed that.”
My preseason prediction of Joey Logano to be best winless driver not to make the playoffs continues to be a fail … pic.twitter.com/Za77lwkf12
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 21, 2024
The importance of the win cannot be overstated. Not only does it put Logano inside the Championship 4, but also gives him a chance to do something no one since Jimmie Johnson has done — win three Cup Series championships. Team Penske has won the last two championship races. Logano will hope to extend the streak on November 10.
Has Logano gone from being the underdog to the title favorite?
The Las Vegas race on Sunday came down to a battle between Logano and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell. The former ended up winning by a narrow margin of 0.662 seconds. Few people expected the Team Penske driver to come up with this kind of performance considering his form in the last few races.
It certainly makes things interesting since he was not seen as a title favorite. Now, the pressure will be on those long-considered favorites, with two races left in the round. “It takes everybody to do it, so we’re in the Championship 4 again. I’m so proud of this team,” Logano added.
“We just find a way and that’s what I’m most proud of. I said it as we entered this thing this week that we may be the underdogs, but I don’t think so anymore.” This is the part of the season where Team Penske usually springs to life. That has been the trend of the last two years and it is seemingly continuing in 2024 as well.
