AVONDALE, Ariz. — Eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the second round, Joey Logano received a second chance when another competitor was disqualified.
He pounced on the opportunity.
Logano was added to the round of eight after Alex Bowman’s disqualification and immediately went to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the third-round opener. It made Logano the first driver locked into one of the four title-eligible slots for the season finale at Phoenix Raceway with three weeks for Team Penske to prepare his No. 22 Ford for the title run.
The 34-year-old Logano capitalized with the third NACAR Cup Series championship of his career, using a nearly flawless drive to hold off teammate Ryan Blaney and give Roger Penske his third major motorsports title in less than a month, as well as the team owner’s third consecutive title on stock-car racing’s top circuit.
Logano actually called his shot after qualifying second Saturday when he confidently acknowledged it was his Cup Series title to lose.