AVONDALE, AZ – November 11, 2024 – Team Penske’s Joey Logano won Sunday’s Championship race at Phoenix Raceway, marking his 36th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, fourth of the year, and his fourth at Phoenix. This win also marks the first time Ford has won the NASCAR Cup Series title three years in a row (Logano in 2022, Blaney in 2023, and Logano in 2024) and the first time that has been achieved by Team Penske. Logano is the first Ford driver to win at least three Cup Series championships and the 10th driver in NASCAR history, joining fellow three-time winners Tony Stewart, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson and Lee Petty; four-time champion Jeff Gordon; and seven-time champions Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
“Congratulations to Roger, Tim, Paul, Joey, and everyone at Team Penske on a 1-2 finish at Phoenix and the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship!,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Both of the Team Penske cars were fast throughout the race and Joey did an amazing job on that last restart. We’re proud to have powered three NASCAR Cup Series Championships in a row, and it’s an honor to stand alongside such a talented and hardworking team.”
“I love the playoffs. I love it, man. What a race. What a Team Penske battle there at the end. I had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. He had a lot of long run speed there and that was all I had there to hold him off. We have three of them. That’s really special. What a team to fight through today. We went through a little bit of adversity in throughout the race. I can’t thank Ford enough and Shell and Pennzoil and Hunt Brother’s Pizza. Paul Wolfe, what a crew chief I have. I’ve got the best team. I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I’ve got the best team and together we’re very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most. We’ve got a mentally tough team that can make things happen when it matters,” commented Logano.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano started Sunday’s race for the championship in P2 with teammate and fellow championship contender Ryan Blaney in P17. On lap 10, Logano took the lead and held on to win Stage 1. Following pit stops during the caution, Logano fell to fifth with teammate Ryan Blaney just ahead. Blaney passed Christopher Bell for the lead on lap 178 to win Stage 2. The race only had two cautions for incidents, the first on lap 2 and the second on lap 250. The yellow flag for the second caution waved with only seven cars on the lead lap – three of which were Championship 4 contenders – Blaney, Logano and Reddick. Byron stayed out during the caution period to restart from the lead with fresh tires. Logano took the lead for the final time after gaining four spots in two laps on the final restart with 52 laps remaining, passing teammate Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell. Logano was able to hold off Blaney in the closing laps and won by 0.330 seconds for a 1-2 finish for Team Penske. Since NASCAR introduced the elimination style playoffs, Logano is the only three-time champion (2018, 2022, and 2024). Team owner Roger Penske’s organization scored its third consecutive Cup championship, having won all three titles since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car in 2022.
A total of three Ford Performance drivers finished in the top-10: Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P1, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P2, and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in P9.
The Xfinity Series also raced for the Championship at Phoenix on Saturday, with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer in contention. Teammate Riley Herbst started the race from P3 and Custer started in P7. After taking the lead on lap 10, Herbst won Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the race. After 2 overtime restarts, Herbst passed Justin Allgaier for the race win, while Justin Allgaier won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship and Cole Custer finished second.
“I knew we were going to have a fast race car. These guys have been working on this Phoenix car as if we were in the playoffs. I knew we were going to be really fast. It has been a really tough week this past week at the shop and a lot of really emotional people. This place has been home for a lot of people for a long time, including myself and it has built me into who I am the last four years. I am grateful to every man and woman at Stewart-Haas Racing. They gave me a really fast car today and we capitalized on it. I can’t thank Monster Energy enough and everyone on the 98 team. They deserve to win. That is a championship caliber team and crew chief. I wish we could have cleaned some stuff up over the last summer but I am proud of these guys and we will see what next year has,” commented Riley Herbst.
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images