Current:Home > ScamsJoey Logano wins Phoenix finale for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske-LoTradeCoin
Joey Logano wins Phoenix finale for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske
View Date:2024-12-23 14:32:38
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Joey Logano won his third NACAR Cup Series championship Sunday with a relentless drive at Phoenix Raceway that gave Team Penske its third major motorsports title in less than a month.
Logano held off Penske teammate Ryan Blaney over the final 20 laps to beat him for the series title by 0.330 seconds. Blaney was trying to become the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson won five straight from 2006 to 2010.
Instead, Logano became the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win three or more championships and broke a tie with Kyle Busch as the only active drivers with multiple titles.
“I love the playoffs, I love it man,” Logano said. “What a team, what a Penske battle there at the end. Three of them? That’s truly special.”
It was the first time in Team Penske history the organization finished 1-2 in the championship. And, it came after Roger Penske’s sports car team in IMSA won the title last month and his World Endurance Championship team won the title last weekend in Bahrain.
“At least a Penske car won it,” said Blaney, who admitted to be “worn out” at the end of the race. “They put together a great playoffs, and we’re happy. If we’re going to race somebody, I’m happy it was him for the championship, and happy to be 1-2 for Roger, three in a row for Roger, super amazing, and Ford.”
Penske and Ford have won three consecutive Cup Series championships. Logano won in 2022 and Blaney won last year.
“One-two for Team Penske, three championships in a row, can’t be more proud of this team,” Logano said. “I don’t know if I’m the best driver but I’ve got the best team. And together, we’re very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most.”
The finale was winner-take-all to the highest finisher between Logano, Blaney, William Byron in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and Tyler Reddick of the 23XI Racing team owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
Byron finished third in the race and Reddick was sixth. It was Byron’s second consecutive appearance in the finale, first for Reddick.
“Makes you hungrier, but also just more experience in what it takes,” said Byron, the Daytona 500 winner. “I feel like this style of track has been tough on us, and we made a lot of strides this year, but still more to go. If we can just kind of inch up on this style of track, I know we’re so good at all the other ones, and we can put it all together.”
Reddick, who had been subdued all week compared to his fellow title contenders, didn’t lead a lap and had Jordan pacing behind the pit wall much of the race.
“Michael was just proud of the effort of our team all year long,” Reddick said. “Put up a good fight. We didn’t make any mistakes that took ourselves out of it. We fought as hard as we could.”
The four title contenders finished in the top-six, with Reddick behind Kyle Larson of Hendrick and Christopher Bell, who led a race-high 143 laps after he was disqualified from the finale last week at Martinsville for a safety violation. Byron took his spot instead, and Bell insisted he had been cheated out of the chance to race for the title.
Logano, a 34-year-old Connecticut driver, led 107 laps in the dominating win that Blaney made closer than expected in the final laps.
But, his very presence in the final four was controversial as Logano was eliminated from the playoffs after the second round only to be reinstated when Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports failed post-race inspection at Charlotte.
Logano was put back in the field of eight, went to Las Vegas Motor Speedway the next week and won to become the first driver locked into the championship race. It gave his No. 22 team three weeks to prepare for Phoenix.
“Our team is better under pressure,” Logano said. “The race started in Vegas for us. The amount of work and effort that went into building this race car right here, the amount of time, I don’t think anyone works harder than us. We were up at 6 in the morning this morning going over stuff. The guys just want it bad and I’m glad we delivered.”
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
veryGood! (2442)
Related
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's jersey ranks among top-selling NFL jerseys after commencement speech
- Parents of disabled children sue Indiana over Medicaid changes addressing $1 billion shortfall
- Is Xandra Pohl Dating Kansas City Chiefs' Louis Rees-Zamm? She Says…
- Candidates line up for special elections to replace Virginia senators recently elected to US House
- The deadline to file for a piece of Apple's $35 million settlement with some iPhone 7 users is approaching. Here's who qualifies.
- Vatican updates norms to evaluate visions of Mary, weeping statues as it adapts to internet age and hoaxers
- 6 people killed, 10 others injured in Idaho when pickup crashes into passenger van
- Solawave Black Friday Sale: Don't Miss Buy 1, Get 1 Free on Age-Defying Red Light Devices
- Body of missing Tampa mom, reportedly abducted alongside daughter, believed to be found
Ranking
- Kyle Richards Shares an Amazing Bottega Dupe From Amazon Along With Her Favorite Fall Trends
- Matt Duchene scores in double overtime as Dallas Stars oust Colorado Avalanche in Game 6
- What would Lisa Simpson do? NYU student protesters asked to ponder ethical issues
- Golfer’s prompt release from jail rankles some who recall city’s police turmoil
- Mike Tyson-Jake Paul: How to watch the fight, time, odds
- Iain Armitage on emotional Young Sheldon finale and what's next in his career
- NFL player Harrison Butker is correct about motherhood. He's wrong about our choices.
- At Memphis BBQ contest, pitmasters sweat through the smoke to be best in pork
Recommendation
-
Mother of Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym Details His Final Moments
-
The stuff that Coppola’s dreams are made of: The director on building ‘Megalopolis’
-
San Francisco artist uses unconventional medium to comment on colorism in the Black community
-
Is Xandra Pohl Dating Kansas City Chiefs' Louis Rees-Zamm? She Says…
-
‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
-
Scheffler detained by police at PGA Championship for not following orders after traffic fatality
-
Climate Jobs Are Ramping Up, But a ‘Just Transition’ Is Necessary to Ensure Equity, Experts Say
-
Even with school choice, some Black families find options lacking decades after Brown v. Board