Logano surges ahead of Chastain at Las Vegas for Championship 4 spot
LAS VEGAS — Since the first Championship 4 in 2014, Joey Logano has qualified to race for the title in the finale every other year – and 2022 will be no different, as Logano won Sunday’s South Point 400 to earn a Championship 4 berth.
Logano claimed the berth with his third win of 2022. He led twice for 32 laps, including the final three laps after making the winning pass on Ross Chastain.
“When there’s so much on the line there’s nothing like a playoff victory,” he added. “And when you get into the Round of 8, it’s the second-biggest win of the year.”
Like his previous two Championship 4 berths, in 2018 and 2020, Logano won the Round of 8 opener to lock into a chance to qualify for the championship.
“I love the playoffs. I can’t help but get excited and love the opportunity to do something great like we did today,” Logano said. “To have the moment to do something big and really change the outcome of your season – there’s no better feeling than that and I’m always in constant search for that feeling.”
Logano has now earned five Championship 4 berths, which is tied with Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. for the most all-time.
On the other side is Ross Chastain, who finished second after leading four times for 68 laps.
Logano caught Chastain and he adjusted his line. Howver, with 13-lap fresher tires than Chastain, Logano still battled by and pushed him to second.
“It’s a really, really, really good kind of hurt, running, competing for wins – and I hope I’m racing that guy [Joey Logano] for wins in the Cup Series for a long time to come,” he added. “It’s gonna be a fun career, if that’s the case.”
“I’m sure I can look back and find a lot of things [I could’ve done differently],” he added. “An obvious one is when he got inside of me in three and four. If i just don’t commit to the top but I thought I could rip the top.”
Chastain still sits second in points, 18 points ahead of the cutline, entering the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, October 23 (TV: NBC; Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90; 2:30 p.m. ET).
Top 10 finishers at Las Vegas: Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, A.J. Allmendinger, Austin Dillon
