Three for 22 – Logano Wins Third Cup
(AVONDALE, AZ – NOV 10, 2024 – RIS) Joey Logano became a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, leading 107 of the 312-laps at Phoenix, winning the race ahead of the 2023 champion Ryan Blaney, who chased his teammate to the checkered flag. Logano became the tenth driver to win three or more championships and the sixth three-time champion, joining Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty, Tony Stewart and David Pearson. His win gave owner Roger Penske his fifth NASCAR Cup championship.
The Championship Four of Joey Logano, William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney started second, eighth, tenth and 17th in the final race of the season with Martin Truex Jr starting on the pole for his final race as a full-time Cup driver. The 312-lap grind on the one-mile triangular track has closed the Cup season since 2020, replacing Homestead-Miami Speedway at the close of the year.
Truex moved out to a healthy lead at the green flag but Ty Gibbs’ car slammed into the wall to in the first turn after brushing the wall at the end of the second lap, ending the season for the No. 54 Toyota. “It was definitely a big hit,” said Gibbs. “I made contact with the wall, but I didn’t think it was necessarily too bad, and I went off into the dogleg. We’ve been really hard on the track there all week and I think I just caught it at a bad angle, and it just took off from me. I had no control there. It was a really, really big hit though.” William Byron had moved to fifth by the caution.
Logano took the lead from Truex at the green flag, with Reddick moving through a four-wide pack to pursue his shot at the Cup. Logano held the top thrugh the end of the first stage, followed by Truex, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Austin Cindric with the four championship-eligible drivers in the top seven.
Logano’s pit stop cost him several positions when the right-front wheel slowed the crew. Chase Elliott gained the lead and four positions after his stop, with Bell restarting second, followed by Blaney, Byron and Hamlin.
Barrier 3, Pace car 0
The (honorary) pace car driver misjudged entering the pits to restart the race, hit the sand barrels protecting the end of the wall between pit wall and the front straight, knocking several barrels out of position and putting the event under the red flag for the quick cleanup.
Christopher Bell moved around Elliott for the lead at the green with Blaney, Byron and Logano bunched together racing for third in the race. A round of green-flag pit stops began about halfway through the 125-lap second stage with Blaney remaining the leader among the championship four after their stops.
Bell held the lead to the end of the second stage, restarting in the same position, with Blaney second, Byron and Logano third and fourth with Reddick back in ninth at the restart. Reddick and Larson touched, almost putting Reddick into the wall hard but they both continued. Reddick moved up to put the second through fifth cars as the championship contenders, Logano, Blaney, Byron and Reddick, all within about two and a half seconds of each other.
Reddick then started fading as Logano, Blaney and Byron held onto their positions. With 80 laps left, Blaney ran about a second behind Bell, with Logano a fraction back and Byron another second and a half down to Logano.
Bell and Logano pitted first of the leaders, with Blaney leading until he pitted, giving Byron the lead, followed by his fellow Hendrick drivers Larson and Elliott. Bell, Blaney and Logano got back on the track in that order, with Byron staying out on a different pit strategy called by crew chief Rudy Fugle.
Byron pitted with 64 laps remaining, taking on four tires and a load of fuel, re-entering the track just before Zanee Smith spun and crashed into the wall in the fourth turn, causing a yellow flag that sent Logano, Blaney and Reddick to the pits for tires and letting William Byron take the lead.
Logano powered into the lead with Byron second and Blaney racing three-wide with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell before Larson got ahead of Blaney with Reddick chasing Bell.
Blaney closed onto Byron an the pair raced side by side for a couple of laps before taking second on the track and in the championship four to make a Penske one-two leading to the final 20 laps in the season. Blaney’s lap times were quicker than Logano’s by a couple of tenths of a second, closing to within a second as lapped traffic made their best efforts to avoid impacting the outcome of the race and the season.
At ten laps left, Logano’s lead had dwindled to about three-fourths of a second, but Blaney continued his charge, cutting into the gap every lap. Blaney closed on the rear bumper of the No. 22 car with six laps left, sweeping wide as Logano took a low entry in the turns then driving in Logano’s tire tracks as Logano opened the gap to three tenths of a second at three laps to run. On the last lap start, the gap was 0.263 second, with Logano holding on for the win by 0.330 second, with Blaney second and William Byron 5.119 seconds back in third place for the race and season. Tyler Reddick closed the season sixth in the race, behind the top trio plus Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.
“What a team” said Logano. “I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I have the best team,” said the champion. He credited spotter Coleman Pressley with telling him where Blaney was in the closing laps, to keep the lead.
“Just worn out, just couldn’t get there,” lamented Blaney after being checked by the medical crew.
“We just needed a little bit more – I feel like we gave it all we had,” said Byron following the race.
Unofficial Results: NASCAR Cup Series Championship, November 10, 2024 - Phoenix Raceway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led, Pts
1) 2, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 312, 1, 3, 40, 2, 107, 6, Running
2) 17, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, 312, 6, 1, 35, 2, 12, 1, Running
3) 8, William Byron (P), No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 312, 4, 4, 34, 4, 19, , Running
4) 4, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 312, 9, 7, 39, 2, 13, , Running
5) 7, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Interstate Batteries/DEWALT Toyota, 312, 3, 2, 49, 3, 143, , Running
6) 10, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota, 312, 7, 10, 31, , , , Running
7) 29, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota, 312, , , 30, , , , Running
8) 5, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 312, 5, 8, 38, 1, 7, , Running
9) 24, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 312, , 6, 33, , , , Running
10) 34, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 312, , , 27, , , , Running
11) 14, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Toyota, 312, 8, 5, 35, , , , Running
12) 21, Noah Gragson, No. 10 Nitro Circus Ford, 312, , , 25, , , , Running
13) 11, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 312, 10, , 25, , , , Running
14) 16, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 312, , , 23, 1, 1, , Running
15) 27, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 312, , , 22, , , , Running
16) 9, Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 312, , , 21, , , , Running
17) 1, Martin Truex Jr, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 312, 2, 9, 31, 1, 9, , Running
18) 15, Carson Hocevar #, No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet, 312, , , 19, , , , Running
19) 3, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet, 312, , , 18, , , , Running
20) 32, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Boozy Jerky! Ford, 311, , , 17, 1, 1, , Running
21) 25, Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 311, , , 16, , , , Running
22) 19, Erik Jones, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota, 311, , , 15, , , , Running
23) 22, Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, 311, , , 14, , , , Running
24) 39, Josh Berry #, No. 4 Texas A&M University Ford, 311, , , 13, , , , Running
25) 26, Derek Kraus, No. 16 Western States Flooring Chevrolet, 311, , , 12, , , , Running
26) 23, * Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Carvana Toyota, 310, , , 11, , , , Running
27) 36, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Chevrolet, 310, , , 10, , , , Running
28) 13, Justin Haley, No. 7 Parity Week By Gainbridge Chevrolet, 310, , , 9, , , , Running
29) 12, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 310, , , 8, , , , Running
30) 18, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota, 310, , , 7, , , , Running
31) 35, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's/Fleetguard Ford, 309, , , 6, , , , Running
32) 20, Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Mighty Fire Breaker Ford, 309, , , 5, , , , Running
33) 30, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 47 Fry's/Silk Chevrolet, 309, , , 4, , , , Running
34) 31, Kaz Grala #, No. 15 Meat N' Bone Ford, 308, , , 3, , , , Running
35) 37, * JJ Yeley(i), No. 44 Chevrolet, 306, , , 0, , , , Running
36) 38, * Chad Finchum(i), No. 66 2ONE Pouches Ford, 302, , , 0, , , , Running
37) 33, Ryan Preece, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 302, , , 1, , , , Running
38) 40, * Jeb Burton(i), No. 50 Luxedo Chevrolet, 294, , , 0, , , , Running
39) 28, Zane Smith #, No. 71 Focused Health Chevrolet, 247, , , 1, , , , Accident
40) 6, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 1, , , 1, , , , Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Length: 312 Laps, 312 Miles
Time: 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 16 Secs.
Average Speed: 106.203 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.330 Second
Stage 1 Top 10: 22, 19, 20, 24, 9, 12, 45, 11, 5, 2
Stage 2 Top 10: 12, 20, 22, 24, 11, 17, 5, 9, 19, 45
Comments: Joey Logano has won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, his 36th career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: No. 50 (multiple inspection failures), also incurs a stop-and-go penalty.
Cautions: 4 for 33 laps;
Laps: 3-9 (No. 54 Incident Frontstretch [None]);
62-71 (Stage 1 Conclusion [Red Flag: 00:05:47] [31]);
187-194 (Stage 2 Conclusion [41]);
251-258 (No. 71 Incident Turn 1 [23]).
Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers;
M. Truex Jr. 1-9;
J. Logano (P) 10-63;
W. Byron (P) 64;
C. Elliott 65-71;
C. Bell 72-117;
K. Larson 118-124;
A. Bowman 125;
T. Gilliland 126;
C. Bell 127-177;
R. Blaney (P) 178-188;
W. Byron (P) 189;
C. Bell 190-235;
R. Blaney (P) 236;
W. Byron (P) 237-247;
K. Larson 248-253;
W. Byron (P) 254-259;
J. Logano (P) 260-312.
Unofficial Points, NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Phoenix Raceway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Joey Logano (P), 22, 36, -1, 5040, 0, 0, 4, 3, 0
2) Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 36, 1, 5035, -5, 5, 3, 5, 0
3) William Byron (P), 24, 36, -1, 5034, -6, 1, 3, 2, 0
4) Tyler Reddick (P), 45, 36, 1, 5031, -9, 3, 3, 6, 0
5) Christopher Bell, 20, 36, 0, 2412, -2628, 2619, 3, 11, 0
6) Kyle Larson, 5, 35, 0, 2378, -2662, 34, 6, 12, 0
7) Chase Elliott, 9, 36, 0, 2342, -2698, 36, 1, 2, 0
8) Denny Hamlin, 11, 36, -1, 2328, -2712, 14, 3, 7, 0
9) Alex Bowman, 48, 36, 1, 2318, -2722, 10, 1, 1, 0
10) Martin Truex Jr, 19, 36, 0, 2257, -2783, 61, 0, 4, 0
11) Austin Cindric, 2, 36, 0, 2247, -2793, 10, 1, 4, 0
12) Daniel Suarez, 99, 36, 0, 2226, -2814, 21, 1, 1, 0
13) Brad Keselowski, 6, 36, 0, 2208, -2832, 18, 1, 1, 0
14) Chase Briscoe, 14, 36, 0, 2184, -2856, 24, 1, 0, 0
15) Ty Gibbs, 54, 36, 0, 2169, -2871, 15, 0, 2, 0
16) Harrison Burton, 21, 36, 0, 2122, -2918, 47, 1, 0, 0
17) Chris Buescher, 17, 36, 0, 930, -4110, 1192, 1, 3, 0
18) Bubba Wallace, 23, 36, 0, 878, -4162, 52, 0, 1, 0
19) Ross Chastain, 1, 36, 0, 852, -4188, 26, 1, 2, 0
20) Kyle Busch, 8, 36, 0, 766, -4274, 86, 0, 1, 0
21) Carson Hocevar #, 77, 36, 0, 686, -4354, 80, 0, 0, 0
22) Todd Gilliland, 38, 36, -1, 630, -4410, 56, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 34, 36, 1, 624, -4416, 6, 0, 1, 0
24) Noah Gragson, 10, 36, 0, 612, -4428, 12, 0, 0, 0
25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 36, 0, 590, -4450, 22, 1, 0, 0
26) Ryan Preece, 41, 36, 0, 584, -4456, 6, 0, 0, 0
27) Josh Berry #, 4, 36, 0, 579, -4461, 5, 0, 1, 0
28) Erik Jones, 43, 34, -1, 516, -4524, 63, 0, 0, 0
29) Daniel Hemric, 31, 36, -1, 515, -4525, 1, 0, 0, 0
30) Zane Smith #, 71, 36, 2, 505, -4535, 10, 0, 0, 0
31) Justin Haley, 7, 36, 0, 503, -4537, 2, 0, 0, 0
32) Austin Dillon, 3, 36, -1, 493, -4547, 10, 1, 0, 0
33) Corey LaJoie, 51, 36, 1, 489, -4551, 4, 0, 0, 0
34) John Hunter Nemechek, 42, 36, 0, 447, -4593, 42, 0, 0, 0
35) Kaz Grala #, 15, 24, 0, 206, -4834, 241, 0, 0, 0
36) Cody Ware, , 9, 0, 146, -4894, 60, 0, 0, 0
37) * Jimmie Johnson, 84, 9, 0, 60, -4980, 86, 0, 0, 0
38) Derek Kraus, 16, 6, -1, 44, -4996, 16, 0, 0, 0
39) Joey Hand, , 1, 1, 43, -4997, 1, 0, 1, 0
40) David Ragan, , 1, 0, 17, -5023, 26, 0, 0, 0
41) Kamui Kobayashi, , 1, 0, 8, -5032, 9, 0, 0, 0
42) Will Brown, , 1, 0, 6, -5034, 2, 0, 0, 0
43) Juan Montoya, , 1, 0, 5, -5035, 1, 0, 0, 0
44) Cam Waters, , 1, 0, 2, -5038, 3, 0, 0, 0
45) Shane Van Gisbergen(i), , 12, 0, 0, -5040, 2, 0, 1, 0
46) Aj Allmendinger(i), , 16, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 1, 0
47) Anthony Alfredo(i), , 3, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Parker Retzlaff(i), , 2, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Ty Dillon(i), , 7, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Bj Mcleod(i), , 7, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Joey Gase(i), , 1, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Corey Heim(i), , 3, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) * JJ Yeley(i), 44, 8, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Riley Herbst(i), , 4, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Austin Hill(i), , 4, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Josh Williams(i), , 2, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Josh Bilicki(i), , 4, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Timmy Hill(i), , 2, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) * Chad Finchum(i), 66, 3, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) David Starr(i), , 1, 0, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
62) * Jeb Burton(i), 50, 1, 62, 0, -5040, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
John Davison
Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.