Well, one driver has booked their ticket to Phoenix Raceway and the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four. If you haven’t realized it, it’s an even year, and everyone should know what happens in the Cup Series in even years. Joey Logano drove his Pennzoil No. 22 Ford Mustang to a win in Sunday’s Round of 8 opening race at Las Vegas.
It doesn’t come as a shock, as he has proven to be very competitive in NASCAR Playoff history, more specifically in even years. His Championships have come in 2018, and 2022. He’s made the Championship Four six times, which is the most by any driver in this era.
Welcome to the Championship 4, Joey Logano 😎🏁 pic.twitter.com/z7Fu7PlXyO
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 20, 2024
Outside of his two Championships, Logano has also reached the Championship Four in 2014, 2016, 2020, and now 2024. How can this guy be stopped. He isn’t a personal favorite of mine, but the luck this guy has in even years is unblemished in the Playoff Era.
Joey Logano Does it Again, Playoff Field Completely Shaken
After getting the gift of a life-time from Alex Bowman’s Roval Disqualification. Logano found a way to sneak into victory lane again. While it was a great pit strategy by crew chief Paul Wolfe. I still don’t understand how this guy can stretch fuel for more than seventy laps. It’s the second time he won a race this season on a fuel strategy, when he was far from the class of the field. His sneakiness certainly wrecked an incredible day for Christopher Bell. Many who are starting to see as a possible favorite for the Championship come Phoenix.
I would put Bell in that category, but these races are really becoming unpredictable. The amount of non-playoff drivers causing problems for the playoff contenders isn’t going to stop. Logano took advantage, while the playoff favorites took a massive hit on Sunday.
Tyler Reddick Tumbles in Crash That Also Involved Chase Elliott
Tyler Reddick had a pretty great day going, when he got caught up in some trouble early in stage two. Reddick’s day after getting involved in a wreck. It also involved Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. The wreck started on the frontstretch as Truex washed up the track, forcing Elliott up into Reddick who tried to fill a hole that wasn’t there.
TYLER REDDICK FLIPS!
Reddick and Chase Elliott both crash. Reddick was able to drive his car to pit road but is done for the day. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/kBjgRp4TC0
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 20, 2024
After hitting the way and spinning through the grass, Reddick wound up on his roof, in one of the weirdest flip overs to date. Reddick spoke with motorsport.com about what happened.
” By the time I realized I was in trouble, it was just too late. The No. 19 (Truex) starts sliding, the No. 9 (Elliott) was coming up and I was pretty much already on their outside. At that point, there is nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them sliding. Just be a little more conservative. That would have avoided the incident. Just not who I am, not what we do,” Reddick said. “It’s unfortunate. I took us out of the race. We had a really fast Camry. Though we would have been in the mix all day long.”
Elliott’s strong run was pretty much ended as well. He got the car fix enough to try and finish as many laps as possible. It still wasn’t pretty and he ended the day 33rd, and now sits 8th and -53 points below the cutline. Reddick is also below the cutline, but going to Homestead could mean big things for the Regular Season Champion.
Kyle Larson Stumbles on Pit Lane
Playoff driver troubles weren’t just on track. Kyle Larson who leads the series with six wins, and has been near unbeatable at Las Vegas. Had a rough day in the pits. For a team that doesn’t often make mistakes, the No. 5 team had a disastrous green flag pit stop during the race.
That stop was on lap 125, and his crew seemed to freeze, as they didn’t get the tires tight the first-time down, and he had to come back in. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels took the blame for what happened according to NASCAR.com’s Dustin Albino about what went wrong. It was a weird situation, but luckily Larson was able to rally from falling two laps down, and keep above the cutline unlike Reddick, Hamlin, Blaney and Elliott.
Who Wants to Be a Favorite Anyway
It has become very clear, that it isn’t a good time to be the favorite. Or at least in Larson or Hamlin, or even Reddick case. Trouble can befall anybody at anytime, and this championship is far from being determined. The only driver who doesn’t have to worry about a thing until Phoenix is Logano, and that’s a scary thought given his and Team Penske’s success in the Next Gen car. Is Logano the new favorite. Do you really want to be the favorite anyway?
