Joey Logano won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday in Phoenix.
Logano held off Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to earn the victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Logano joins Lee Petty, David Pearson, Tony Stewart, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough as three-time NASCAR Cup Series champions.
Logano made a move to cut through the dogleg at Phoenix with just over 50 laps remaining to go from fifth to first, passing William Byron, and held off a hard-charging Blaney to get the win.
The race also featured Martin Truex Jr.’s final race as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Here are winners and losers from Sunday’s NASCAR Phoenix race.
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Winners
Joey Logano
To the victor goes the spoils, and Logano earned it. Logano battled through getting eliminated when the checkered flag flew to end the Round of 12 at Charlotte, then getting back into the playoffs when Alex Bowman was disqualified for not making minimum weight in postrace inspection. Logano led 107 laps in the championship race to earn the win.
Team Penske
Team Penske has won three NASCAR Cup Series championships in a row, including two for Joey Logano in the last three years. Penske finished 1-2 in the championship race with Ryan Blaney nearly beating Logano in the closing laps on Sunday. Add in Hendersonville’s Josef Newgarden’s back-to-back Indianapolis 500 wins and that makes an unforgettable racing season.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. finished 19th in his final race as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. Truex’s full-time career started in 2006. He made 716 starts and won 36 races in the NASCAR Cup Series in his decorated hall of fame career.
Losers
Tyler Reddick
In his first Championship 4 appearance, Tyler Reddick couldn’t seem to get his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota going. While he ran in the top 10 most of the day and finished sixth, he never seriously contended for the win.
William Byron
William Byron looked to have the tire strategy perfect as he pitted one lap before a late caution came out with 59 laps to go. However, Logano passed Byron through the dogleg to get the lead. Byron ended up finishing third in the race and in the Championship 4 standings in his second consecutive appearance.
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs format
Logano got the job done when he had the opportunity, give him and his team all the credit. However, Logano won the championship with the fewest top-5 finishes (7), fewest top-10s (13) and the lowest average finishing position (17.11) of a NASCAR Cup Series champion.
NASCAR needs to tweak the playoff format to find a better balance with drivers winning races and consistently finishing well. Something between the current format and the “Kenseth Rule” when Matt Kenseth won his 2003 championship with one win, 11 top 5 finishes and 25 top 10s and an average finish of 10.25 that brought on the “Chase for the Cup” in 2004.
Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Cup Series: Phoenix winners and losers, Joey Logano wins title
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