Joey Logano Keeps Unique NASCAR Streak Alive

Team Penske’s Joey Logano is back in the Cup Series championship four after a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This performance kept his unique streak featuring even numbers alive.

The championship four has been a factor in the playoffs since the 2014 season when Kevin Harvick won the title. Logano was part of the original four that featured Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. He has since gone on to make four more appearances in the final round of the playoffs, also counting the 2022 season.

All of these appearances have taken place in even-numbered years. He did not reach the championship four in 2015, 2017, 2019, or 2021. Logano finished fourth in 2014, second in 2016, first in 2018, and third in 2020. Now he will try to win his second championship after becoming the first driver to reach the championship four.

“Oh, man, all you want to do is get to the championship four when the season starts and race for a championship, and we’ve got the team to do it,” Logano told NBC Sports after exiting the No. 22 Ford Mustang. “I don’t see why we can’t win at this point. Things are looking really good for us, awesome Pennzoil Mustang, this bad boy, and man, just a lot of adversity fought through the last 50 laps or so.

“I thought we were going to win and then we kind of fell out and then had the tires, and racing Ross was fun. He was doing a good job air-blocking me, and just trying to be patient, and eventually, I was like, I’ve got to go here. Just great to win out here in Vegas again, and it means so much getting to the championship.”

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Logano Has 1 Thing on His Mind

Logano’s win took place during the first race of the Round of Eight. Now he has a secure spot in the championship four, and he doesn’t have to stress about points or anything else heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.

This early win puts Logano and the No. 22 team in a great position. They can simply focus on how to get the best speed out of the Ford Mustang at Phoenix Raceway, one of their best tracks statistically.

“We’ve done a great job getting there, now it’s just down to one race,” Logano said during his post-race press conference. “Phoenix is one of our best race tracks, it’s one of Paul [Wolfe]’s best race tracks by history. We’ll hopefully bring a really fast Shell-Pennzoil Mustang out there, and we’ve got a few weeks to think about it, which is nice.

“We’ll be able to focus in. I’ve lived this story before, winning at Martinsville and being able to give yourself a bit of an advantage when you get to Phoenix. When that’s all you care about, all you think about for the next couple weeks. Where everybody else is fighting tooth and nail to get in, we’re able to focus in on the one race that really counts now.”

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Logano Moved 1 Step Closer to a Former Teammate

This win punched Logano’s ticket to the championship four. It also marked his 30th time celebrating a Cup Series win in Victory Lane — his 28th as a member of Team Penske.

Logano is now six wins behind former teammate Brad Keselowski, who won 34 times while driving for Team Penske. The 2012 champion has the second-most Cup Series wins for the organization while Rusty Wallace has the most at 37. Logano is third with an opportunity to chase down Keselowski.

Logano will now pursue more wins at tracks where he has previous success. This includes Homestead-Miami Speedway, the site of his 2018 championship win. Logano also has one win at Martinsville Speedway and two wins at Phoenix Raceway in his Cup Series career.

If Logano can win one of the three remaining races, he will move one step closer to Keselowski and Wallace. He will also tie Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. for 28th on the all-time Cup Series wins list.

 

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