Joey Logano becomes two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion

2022 will be a year to remember for Roger Penske and his Team Penske operation. Two months after Will Power won the NTT IndyCar Series championship for the second time, Joey Logano became a twice NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Logano won the pole before he and team-mate Ryan Blaney dominated Sunday’s Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway; the duo led a combined 296 of 312 laps and split the first two stages. Although fellow Ford Chase Briscoe took the lead late, a caution for Michael McDowell spinning Alex Bowman prompted a final restart with thirty laps remaining that Logano won out.

The victory caps off a four-win campaign that began with Logano claiming the inaugural Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It is Penske’s third Cup driver’s championship after Brad Keselowski in 2012 and Logano in 2018.

“We had a good car, and I told the guys, after we put it on the pit the other day: ‘We got them down; now we put our foot on them.’ That’s the attitude you’ve got to have,” Logano commented in his post-race press conference. “It’s just what it is when it comes to this level. Your feelings are checked at the door, and it’s all about winning and nothing less than that.

“When you get this far, I said it all week, we weren’t satisfied with being in the Championship Four. There was nothing to celebrate for us. We’ve been here before. We know what it feels like to lose. It’s the worst feeling in the world, if I’m being honest, and winning is the best feeling in the world. It’s great to be able to accomplish it. I said that this was revenge for 2020. It certainly was. Something that’s going to stick with me for a while. […]

“I found out in 2018, I say it all the time. I found out in 2018 how big the team really is, and I carry that weight with me now, knowing how big it is and the impact it makes on their families.”

Ross Chastain, who wowed the sports world in his effort to make the Championship Round, finished third behind Logano and Blaney to record a runner-up points placement. Although he did not have another jaw-dropping wallride, he instead tangled with fellow Final Four racer Chase Elliott on lap 201: Elliott came down to block but was clipped by Chastain in the process, spinning him. Elliott did not retire as a result but finished twenty-eighth and two laps down.

Despite falling short, Chastain said he is “full of gratitude. I can’t believe how good I feel. I finished second in the Truck Series at points in 2019 and was crying pulling in the pits off the track and just got it together kind of and then just lost my mind that night, but then had Xfinity and Cup, and it kind of took my mind off it. Right now, I just am proud of what we’ve done, and I feel so good. Pulling in, there was just taking an audit on myself. There were no tears, no moment where I had to compose myself. It was just genuine good feeling from inside.

“I’m happy where I’m at. I’m happy with the group I have. I was excited to get out and see my family, see my mom, see my dad and brother and see the whole group we’ve got. This is just the beginning. If it all ends today, it’s fine. Really, if I can never race a car again, it’s okay. It was all worth it, and I’m genuinely happy.

“Believe me when I say it, it’s true, because there’s other times where it eats you up as a competitor. But for some reason, it’s not that I’m complacent in second, but I feel good.”

Assuming finishes remained the same, Elliott would have clinched the title under the season-long Latford points system used until 2003. His five victories led the Cup Series in 2022.

“I don’t really care about 2023 right now. We had five wins on the season, and we had—you tell me what the stats are,” said Elliott. “That’s how you would assess it, right? I know we won five races. That’s more than we did last year. But do not tell me what the countdown clock is because I don’t want to know.”

Christopher Bell had a tumultuous day, having had to race with a heavy heart in the memory of Joe Gibbs Racing co-owner Coy Gibbs. A late pit stop error in which a tyre changer’s finger got caught between the lug nut and the spindle ultimately dropped him out of contention, though he was able to salvage a tenth-place finish.

“You wake up first thing this morning and super excited and thrilled with life and where you’re at and the opportunity given to you. To receive news like that a couple hours before you get in the car is extremely tough,” Bell stated. “Just really kind of puts it in perspective that what we’re doing here is not the big picture for sure. Yeah, just thinking of Joe. I just can’t imagine what Joe is going through and the entire Gibbs family. That’s the important piece.”

Coy’s son Ty, who won the Xfinity Series championship on Saturday hours before his passing, withdrew from the Cup race following the news. Daniel Hemric finished seventeenth in his place. Kyle Busch ended his decorated tenure at JGR with a run of seventh.

Race results

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Status
1	1	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	312	Running
2	2	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	312	Running
3	25	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	312	Running
4	3	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	312	Running
5	7	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	312	Running
6	8	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	Running
7	22	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	Running
8	21	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	Running
9	4	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	Running
10	17	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	Running
11	14	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	312	Running
12	16	16	A.J. Allmendinger*	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	312	Running
13	15	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	312	Running
14	30	43	Erik Jones	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	Running
15	12	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	Running
16	9	41	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	312	Running
17	10	23	Daniel Hemric*	23XI Racing	Toyota	312	Running
18	27	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	Running
19	6	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	312	Running
20	13	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	312	Running
21	19	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	312	Running
22	23	45	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	311	Running
23	11	8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	311	Running
24	28	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	311	Running
25	20	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	311	Running
26	32	42	Ty Dillon	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	311	Running
27	26	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	311	Running
28	5	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	310	Running
29	31	38	Todd Gilliland †	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	309	Running
30	34	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	308	Running
31	33	78	B.J. McLeod*	Live Fast Motorsports	Ford	307	Running
32	29	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	307	Running
33	35	15	Garrett Smithley*	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	304	Running
34	24	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	304	Running
35	18	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	270	Electrical
36	36	77	Landon Cassill*	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	84	Accident

Bold – Champion
Underline – Championship Round driver
Italics – Rookie of the Year
† – Competed for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points