# Logano wins third NASCAR Cup Series title after late-season reset pays off

Joey Logano recovered from an earlier playoff elimination, returned via a disqualification, and finished with a third Cup championship at Phoenix.

Joey Logano’s third NASCAR Cup Series championship on the event date was the product of a season that nearly slipped away and then turned sharply in his favor. The Team Penske driver finished the winner-take-all finale ahead of teammate Ryan Blaney at Phoenix Raceway, securing his third career title and becoming only the 10th driver in NASCAR history to reach three championships or more.

The road to the crown was unusual even by playoff standards. Logano had been eliminated at the end of the second round, then re-entered the round of eight after Alex Bowman was disqualified. That second chance mattered immediately. He went to Las Vegas Motor Speedway and won the opening race of the round, becoming the first driver locked into the final and giving himself three weeks to prepare for the title run. That preparation ended with a near-flawless drive in Phoenix.

Logano held off teammate Ryan Blaney over the final 20 laps, winning the championship by 0.330 seconds. Blaney was trying to become the first back-to-back Cup champion since Jimmie Johnson, but Logano’s run was steadier when it mattered most. He led 107 laps in the finale and raced from the front with the confidence of a team that had already accepted the pressure of the weekend.

For Team Penske, the result was even bigger than a single title. The organization finished 1-2 in the championship race for the first time in its history, completing a stretch in which Penske teams had also won major motorsports titles in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship. The Cup victory made it three consecutive NASCAR championships for Penske, with Logano winning in 2022, Blaney in 2023, and Logano again now.

Logano himself framed the result as a team achievement as much as a personal one. The veteran driver, from Connecticut, described Penske’s group as especially strong under pressure, and the final proved the point. William Byron and Tyler Reddick were the other title contenders in the field, but neither could challenge the Penske cars when the decisive laps arrived. In the end, Logano’s season became a case study in how the modern NASCAR playoff system can reward resilience as much as early dominance.