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SportsCasting
Jeff Hawkins

NASCAR Cup Series Fans React To Joey Logano Earning 3rd Championship

Joey Logano NASCAR Ryan Blaney Cup (Organization) NASCAR Cup Series Cup Series Bell (Person) Byron (Person) Reddick (Person) Ty Gibbs

On the final lap of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at a sold-out Phoenix Raceway, teammates faced off for the title.  

Joey Logano vs. Ryan Blaney. 

Logano held off the defending champion by 0.330 seconds for his third career Bill France Cup, continuing his even-year magic. He claimed his previous titles in 2018 and ‘22. 

“I love the playoffs,” Logano said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “I love it, man. What a race! What a Team Penske battle there at the end.  

Logano became the ninth Cup driver to claim at least three titles, joining Dale Earnhardt (7), Jimmie Johnson (7), Richard Petty (7), Jeff Gordon (4), David Pearson (3), Lee Petty (3), Tony Stewart (3), Cale Yarborough (3) and Darrell Waltrip (3). 

The No. 22 Ford team executed the feat by overcoming an odd twist. A jackman on the pit crew fell ill and was replaced by a member of Austin Cindric’s team.  

Logano didn’t squander his second opportunity. At the close of the Round of 12, Logano was eliminated, but was given new life when Alex Bowman was disqualified. The Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet failed post-race inspections.  

Despite enduring a season in which he recorded his lowest average finish since 2013, Logano qualified for the postseason by winning a five-overtime race at Nashville Superspeedway. His team’s highlight, before Sunday, was the Round of 8 Las Vegas Motor Speedway victory. Logano and Co. Engineered a 68-lap fuel run to advance to the final four. 

With Sunday’s effort, Logano ensured his career will end as a Hall of Famer. 

X (Twitter) users responded to Logano celebrating his trio of titles … 

Before taking the trophy stage, Logano staged his own crowd-pleasing moment … 

Martin Truex Jr., the retiring former champion, received a pre-race tribute … 

Michael McDowell took time to bid farewell before his last race piloting the No. 34 Ford. Next season, the former Daytona 500 champ will drive the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports … 

 The Cup Series’ final opening green flag of the season … 

Two laps into the final, Ty Gibbs, the 2023 rookie of the year, slammed into the wall … 

The final four was grouped tight. Logano jumped to a quick lead by capturing Stage 1, while Byron earned a P4, Blaney P6 and Reddick P7 … 

An eventful pit stop. With Logano enduring a slow stop on Lap 63 because of trouble changing the right front tire, Chase Elliott claimed the lead off of pit road. Logano fell back to P5. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie was caught speeding … 

 WTF! The pace car hit the barrels? … 

After a round of pit stops beginning on Lap 111, Bell, who pitted seven rotations later, worked his way back to the lead on Lap 127. Meanwhile, Blaney emerged in third place to gain an advantage, but not long-term  …

 Logano passed Byron for P3 on Lap 153, setting the stage for a championship run …

Blaney passed Bell for the lead on Lap 178, survived a side-by-side battle three rotations later and captured Stage 2 … 

Logano passed Blaney for P2 on Lap 201. Over the next 30 laps Blaney attempted to position himself to regain the advantage, but the eventual champ maintained the lead …  

Zane Smtih crashed from P28 on Lap 250, which reshuffled the Stage 3 deck … 

On the restart, Byron led the field with Logano P5, Blaney P6 and Reddick P8 and survived a three-wide situation with Bell and Logano. On Lap 260, Logano overtook the field and pulled away … 

The final lap. Blaney went high for a “final shot at it,” but Logano proved what he heard over his team radio: “There’s nobody better … nobody” … 

For Logano, Sunday’s win was his 36th career win, tying him with Brad Keselowski for No. 24 on the all-time list. The future Hall of Famer led the final 53 laps, claiming his fourth trip to Victory Lane this season …

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