Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday, claiming the trophy after 312 laps at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
The win gives Logano his second career championship, the first coming in 2018 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Las Vegas. Before his first win, Logano had been widely seen as an underdog.
The 32-year-old Logano started Sunday on the pole in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Although 36 drivers started, just four – Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Logano – were eligible for the series title after a playoff whittled the field down from 16.
Chastain finished third, Bell 10th and Elliott 28th.
Ty Gibbs had been slated to drive the No. 23 car Sunday. Following the death of his father, Coy Gibbs, he was replaced by driver Daniel Hemric just hours before the race, with his 23XI Racing team citing “a family emergency” as the cause.
Coy Gibbs was the co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing and son of team patriarch Joe Gibbs.
After the race, Logano gave his condolences to the Gibbs family and thanked his team for the season.
“Boy, that was intense there at the end,” Logano said. “It’s all about championships. That’s what it’s all about. Worked so hard these last couple of weeks just trying to put ourselves in position.”
With his son in his arms, Logano said there was never any doubt going into today’s race.
“I knew all along that we were going to win the championship,” Logano said. “I told the guys that we were the favorite from Daytona and we truly believed it. That’s the difference.
“Like I said, I had a good team with a bunch of confidence and we had all the reason in the world to be confident. I said I never been truly this ready for a championship race, and we did it, man. I can’t believe it.”
