joey logano Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. — 35 races down, one to go. Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2022 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion. Heading into this year’s championship race, it will be a battle between two former champions and two drivers making their first appearance in the Championship 4 to see who will be hoisting the Bill France Cup when the checkered flag falls. Whittled down from the 16 original title contendersRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – As the grizzled veteran of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4, Joey Logano showed his fellow title contenders how it was done Saturday at Phoenix, scoring the pole for Sunday’s championship deciding race. The 2018 series champion posted a lap of 26.788 seconds, 134.389 mph to jump to the top of the board ahead of his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to put himself in the best position possible when the green flag drops. “It keeps the pressure on them,” Logano said. “That’sRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – Since the implementation of the Championship 4 in 2014, Joey Logano is one of four drivers that’ve made the title-deciding race five times (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022). As much experience as he has with 2018 being the pinnacle of his NASCAR Cup Series career, simply making it to the big dance isn’t enough. Advancing into the Championship 4 following his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway doesn’t satisfy him. Hoisting the Bill France Trophy satisfies the 32-year-old Team Penske driver. HeadingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The momentum is firmly on Ross Chastain’s side on NASCAR Cup Series championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Coming off his headline grabbing move at Martinsville to punch his ticket into the season finale with a shot at the title, Chastain topped the board in the lone Cup Series practice of the weekend, besting the field and the other title contenders with a lap of 27.019 seconds, 133.240 mph. “Obviously being fastest is encouraging,” Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen said. “Certainly, some opportunity toRead More

By Holly Cain and Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Chastain still can’t believe he pulled-off the move at Martinsville PHOENIX, Ariz. – Ross Chastain has spent much of his young career overcoming obstacles and exceeding expectations. However, the 29-year-old Floridian’s singular clutch move to qualify for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Phoenix Raceway wasn’t even an expectation, it was a once-an-era moment that will undoubtedly go down in NASCAR lore. And Chastain himself, still can’t help but smileRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Christopher Bell had another miracle in his pocket, but Ross Chastain stole the show with a scarcely believable video-game move in the final corners of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. For the second time in as many rounds in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Bell won a race he had to win. After beating pole winner Kyle Larson to the finish line by .869 seconds, Bell will race for the series title next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. “Mom and dad,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson speeds to pole position for Martinsville elimination race MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Kyle Larson backed up last Sunday’s victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a pole-winning run at Martinsville Speedway. Though Larson has been eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, he’ll lead the field to green in the race to decide which three drivers will join Joey Logano in the November 6 Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway—Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). After locking upRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Seven drivers. Three transfer spots into the Championship 4. One race. The Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs all comes down to Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a half-mile bullring in southern Virginia where bent sheet metal and hurt feelings are all but inevitable. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic track, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. The track has basically one groove, meaning the only wayRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. _ Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron won the pole position for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a lap of 166.389 mph in the No. 24 Chevrolet – his first pole position of the 2022 season and eighth of his career. “It’s not like a guaranteed point gain,’’ Byron said, “The pit stall is good, I’m happy with that part of it. And just the momentum for the team. We’ve tried toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After spending the past two seasons bouncing around to different dates on the schedule, Homestead-Miami Speedway is back in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with Sunday’s running of the Dixie Vodka 400. From 2002 to 2019, Homestead served as the season finale and once again this season, it will serve a pivotal role in the championship as the midway point of the Round of 8. Should any of the seven drivers not yet locked into the Championship 4 win on Sunday, they will claim their chanceRead More