CONCORD, N.C. — There he goes again.
Somehow, someway, Joey Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe are back in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. A gutsy decision by Wolfe to pit from 13th place with just 11 laps to go and forfeit their then-two-point advantage over Ross Chastain paid off aplenty. Fresher tires allowed Logano to remain on the attack while Chastain bled spots. Entering the final chicane tied at the cutline and needing one more spot to best Logano, Chastain’s desperation led him to spin Denny Hamlin and try to claim the final spot in the Round of 8.
Too little, too late. Chastain went around with Hamlin and ultimately fell four points short of advancing, permitting the No. 22 Team Penske team to continue its NASCAR Cup Series Championship defense. That’s terrible news for the other seven drivers who advanced to the postseason semifinals.
MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Roval
We’ve seen this mojo before from Logano. The team was ousted after the checkered flag flew at the 2024 Roval race, but a disqualification for Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team after post-race inspection suddenly propelled the No. 22 team back into the final octet. A bold fuel strategy by Wolfe at Las Vegas to open the semifinals later led Logano to victory, a Championship 4 berth and Logano’s third Cup championship.
“Proud of Paul Wolfe. Made some really hard calls today,” Logano told NBC Sports. “Three-stopping the end there, kind of an audible there at the end. Just our fall-off was a little too much, so making that call there at the end was ultimately what kept us there in the game with just a few left.”
Leaving the door open for them to do it all over again? That could spell disaster for anyone else chasing a championship in 2025. Hamlin, who is one of those other seven drivers, had passed Chastain on the final lap, placing Chastain in a must-pass-now scenario.
“Truthfully, I wish I would have just known what the last-lap scenario was,” Hamlin said of his late pass on Chastain that sent the No. 1 into desperation mode. “And then I can make the best decision I can for me.”
What that boils down to is hoping anyone but Logano makes it this far in the postseason.
And yet this is nothing new for Logano, who at age 35 is continuing to flex his muscle as one of the Cup Series’ elite. Despite ranking seventh in Passing Rating and 10th in Speed Rating, Logano is the best defender in Cup, according to NASCAR Insights’ season-long rankings. All he needs is track position — sometimes via speed, sometimes via fantastic pit calls — and Logano can do the rest to keep competitors behind him.
That, in large part, is what makes the No. 22 team lethal in the postseason. Given an inch, they will take a mile, and they will force you to go through them. And with a chance to eliminate Logano from being a real threat for the championship — Logano has past wins at Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville and of course Phoenix — the Cup field just couldn’t get rid of him. Fans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway knew it, too, and let Logano hear their displeasure after the race. With a Round of 8 berth in hand, he didn’t mind.
“Is that me? Is that who they’re booing at?” Logano said as his TV interview played over the public address. “Oh well. We’re still alive, baby! We’re still going. I’m so excited. …
“It’s the drama of the playoffs. If you want drama, the playoffs bring it every time.”
The theatrics reached their fever pitch, and Logano was left as the last man standing, smiling his way into the Nevada desert with another chance to make NASCAR history, this time pursuing a fourth Cup title that would tie him with Jeff Gordon for fourth-most all-time behind Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson (seven). And all Logano needs is a chance.
“A championship performance from the team,” he said. “Wish I was a little faster, but overall, I couldn’t be more proud of the team. We still got a shot.”
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