Joey Logano became a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion on Sunday as he won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race and the season title.
Logano held off defending champion and fellow Championship Four competitor Ryan Blaney for first place. William Byron finished in third and Tyler Reddick finished in sixth place.
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It was Logano’s fourth victory of the season. He won at Nashville to clinch a spot in the postseason and then found himself in Victory Lane at Atlanta during the Round of 16. He won again in Las Vegas to clinch a spot in the championship race and put the cherry on top of his incredible year with the result at Phoenix.
“I love the playoffs. I love it, man. What a race! What a Team Penske battle there at the end,” he said, per NASCAR.com. “Had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. And he had a lot of long run speed there, and it was all I had there to hold him off.”
Logano’s win marked the second in three years. He won the title in 2022 and won it for the first time in 2018. He put on an incredible display of defensive driving as he held off Blaney.
Blaney was the defending champion going into the race and had a great shot to win at Phoenix. But he couldn’t get around Logano. The No. 22 won by 0.330 seconds.
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“[Spotter] Coleman Pressley,” Logano said when asked how he was able to keep Blaney at bay. “He was telling me where he was. He was up there telling me the best lanes to run. And it’s a balance of putting dirty air on him and running the fastest laps for my Ford.
“We just got a little too tight there at the end and couldn’t really rap the bottom as well as I wanted to.”
It was a 1-2 finish for Team Penske. It was the first time the organization had that result in the championship.
“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.”
Roger Penske wanted to make sure the team got the credit.
“It’s all about the people,” Penske said. “My name might be on the door, but it’s all about the people who make the difference, and we sure have them on this team.”
Blaney said, ultimately, he was happy for the Penske team.
“At least a Penske car won it,” he said. “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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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