Bob Pockrass
FOX NASCAR Insider
Joey Logano has already made some historical past as an underdog in NASCAR’s present playoff system.
Having completed fifteenth within the common season factors standings, he’s the lowest-scoring common season driver to complete fourth because the stage factors period started in 2017.
The incontrovertible fact that he hasn’t had the very best years has led to some criticism as as to if he’s actually a Championship 4 driver.
And think about the response if Logano received the Cup title after being fifteenth in common season factors after which initially did not even attain the semifinals till Alex Bowman’s disqualification from Charlotte resurrected Logano’s championship hopes.
The statistics do not lie:
–Logano has six top-5 finishes this 12 months; no different driver on this spherical has fewer than 9, and Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson have 13 this 12 months.
–Logano has 11 top-10s; no different driver on this spherical has fewer than 15 and Bell leads with 21.
–Logano ranks eighth in miles pushed and ninth in laps pushed this 12 months. Logano led 3.54% of the laps, whereas three drivers led greater than 10%: Larson (18.64%), Bell (11.53%) and Denny Hamlin (10.64%).
But Logano has three wins. Only one driver has extra this 12 months: Larson with six. Now you may have a look at Logano’s victories: a five-overtime fuel-efficient technique win in Nashville, a drafting observe win in Atlanta, after which the fuel-efficient technique win in Las Vegas that introduced him into the battle for the championship in a few weeks. in Phoenix — they usually say they weren’t from dominant reveals.
Victories are victories. This is what drivers and groups attempt to do each week. Logano has three, and for that alone, that ought to be sufficient to say he is had a season that does not devalue championship standing.
Logano famous final week that dominant seasons are unlikely within the Next Gen period. He mentioned he and his son have been reviewing a pre-Next Gen season yearbook, and Logano realized how completely different the collection was from 2022.
“He began studying the order of end and the highest 10 was virtually the identical each weekend (pre-Next Gen),” Logano mentioned. “It was the identical high 10 drivers and now you have a look at the highest 10 and it is completely different each week. There’s folks out and in of that factor. It’s not like I’m clicking 20 or one thing high 10s.
“There are 10 vehicles that do that all 12 months spherical. It does not occur anymore. The recreation has modified. This automobile fully modified all the pieces we knew about NASCAR and I observe it as a result of it is simply the craziest factor we do now. Look the way in which we race on the observe, the tracks we go on – you identify it and it may possibly occur.
Logano making Championship 4 occurred. And as a lot as some would possibly wish to say that Logano did not carry out at a championship stage, his season was, in some ways, spectacular.
There was a cause Logano entered the 12 months with some doubts about making the playoffs (this author is considered one of them). The new Ford physique had not been examined and there was hypothesis that maybe it was not a big enchancment.
There was a cause Logano made the playoffs and a few dismissed him with a primary spherical exit (this author is considered one of them). Logano was fourth amongst Ford drivers within the common season. He hadn’t run far sufficient ahead to indicate that they might have sufficient alternatives to attain the required factors.
But now his two playoff victories deliver him to 3 victories, greater than some other Ford driver this 12 months. The solely different Ford driver with a couple of win is his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, who has two.
Winning a championship within the present system signifies that a driver and workforce execute and carry out to the very best of their means. Logano and his workforce did it and have been maybe the very best throughout the playoffs.
While different groups have suffered mishaps on pit highway or been concerned in crashes, Logano averted these misfortunes besides at Talladega, the place many of the discipline was concerned in a crash.
If he performs nicely in Phoenix to win the title, he would present one other titanic efficiency. He began twenty third at Phoenix within the spring and struggled earlier than having a crash. There are indicators {that a} huge acquire is feasible: At New Hampshire, a considerably comparable 1-mile observe, in the summertime, Logano certified sixth and was within the high three in every stage earlier than a crash on the restart ruined his the day.
Logano is not going to enter the championship race as the favourite and, greater than possible, is seen because the least possible champion.
But if he prevails, assuming he does so by successful or main Phoenix, he will likely be a champion deserving of reward and respect for a serious achievement.
He may not have had the very best season, however he had a season the place he made essentially the most of alternatives and improved to the purpose within the playoffs the place he may have been an element. He confirmed grit and dedication and carried out when it mattered most – the components wanted for a champion.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He spent many years protecting motorsports, together with greater than 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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