He’s back. Joey Logano’s grows Cup legacy grows with another Round of 8 berth

CONCORD, N.C. — Fans and drivers surely wonder… he can’t keep getting away with this, right?

For the second year in a row, Joey Logano is back in a familiar spot fans and drivers fear. After a good enough year to get a win that locked him a solid playoff run, Logano is one of eight drivers left with a chance to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

If Logano wins, it’d be his second championship in a row, third in four years and fourth in eight years.

No one has been capable of that level of dominance since Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson — nor has anyone riled up fans as much as them.

“Is that me they’re booing? Oh hey! We’re still in it, woo!” Logano said.

Fans haven’t changed as they see Logano for who he’s become — a 3-time Cup champion who keeps rising above when others fall short.

Ross Chastain had the defending champion eliminated until his car faded on the final lap. Hamlin passed him, allowing Logano to advance after Chastain made an ill-fated move in the final turn.

Logano and his team having better luck and better execution than the rest of the field. That’s why they’re the 3-time championship-winning team.

In 2018, the second year of the current win-and-you’re in, elimination format with playoff points, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. established themselves as the “Big 3” championship favorites. They won 17 of the first 23 races and never lost a regular, non-SS oval race that went the full distance.

Logano won at Talladega and quietly started the playoffs with 14 bonus points from the win, three stage wins and placing fifth in the regular season standings – far behind the Big 3 but good enough to make the Round of 8.

In that round, the Big 3 showed weaknesses, as Logano won the battle right away against Truex at Martinsville. At Homestead-Miami Logano won “the damn war” against them, becoming the 2018 champion.

Four years later, Logano did it again. In 2022, he doubled his regular season wins total and made the Round of 8, where a win at Las Vegas ultimately put him in a spot to clinch his second title with a dominant win at Phoenix Raceway.

Then, in 2024, Logano truly blew the playoffs out of the water. 

Logano only made the playoffs because he went 107 laps on a tank of fuel at Nashville Superspeedway in the series’ first ever quintuple overtime. Then, he only made the Round of 8 because a competitor’s car failed post-race inspection. Then, he only earned a spot to ultimately clinch his third title because of crew chief Paul Wolfe’s gutsy fuel-mileage call that allowed them to win at Las Vegas.

The No. 22 team ups their game in key moments where others falter. It’s why they could easily get number four this year.

Logano only made the playoffs by picking through the field to win at Texas in May. He reeled off three top-five finishes in the first four playoff races, including New Hampshire where he led 147 of 301 laps and finished fourth.

New Hampshire was a warning shot across the bow from Logano and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney – while Kansas and the Charlotte Roval was a warning shot from crew chief Paul Wolfe.

Wolfe’s tire strategy call at Kansas helped Logano jump from running outside of the top-15 to earning stage points in each stage. A week later, he successfully hinged his bets on Logano making up enough spots with new tires while Chastain lost enough on older tires.

Now, the No. 22 team is in the Round of 8 with Las Vegas, Talladega and Martinsville. Logano himself has won two of the last three fall Las Vegas races, been a threat in almost every NextGen superspeedway race and has never finished outside of the top 10 at Martinsville in the NextGen era.

Logano also has the versatility in 2025, leading at least 40 laps led at at least two superspeedways (Daytona, Atlanta), an intermediate track (Las Vegas) and the championship track itself (Phoenix) where he could win the damn war again in a few weeks.

If Logano can win his fourth Cup championship, he’d become just the fifth driver in series history to become a 4-time champion – joining Jeff Gordon (4), Jimmie Johnson (7), Dale Earnhardt (7) and Richard Petty (7).

Logano is a new type of legend – a legend of a format where performing and winning at the right time is everything. Logano and Penske have played by the rules the best, as the team has never lost a NextGen-era Cup championship.

In fact, the dominance looms over the heads of competition managers at teams like Joe Gibbs Racing. Seeing their performance at New Hampshire, competition director Chris Gabehart mentioned it was going to be hard to beat Penske at Phoenix.

Logano may be a legend of the current format that is likely going out the door – but who’s to say he can’t also win a championship under a different format? With a different format, like a full-season format or a Chase format, Logano could’ve easily won the championship in multiple years.

Teammate Ryan Blaney’s 2025 season is also proof of how Penske can put together a whole season across all track. Counting the points earned in each race, Blaney is second only to William Byron (1,057 vs. 1,030) this season.

Logano and Team Penske are establishing their place in the NASCAR history book. When you think of the late-2010s and 2020s of NASCAR, you’ll think of Logano’s yellow No. 22 car and their continuous success. Like Johnson and Gordon in the past, it’s hard to appreciate a driver’s success at the moment — but the time comes.

For Logano, that time is coming where he’ll be remembered for his successes – accomplished already and still to come.

M