Logano lets driving do talking in taking title
NASCAR’s wild card beats the big three to win season finale and his first series crown.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Joey Logano was relatively quiet leading up to NASCAR’s final race.
“Sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut, just go out there and kick [butt],” he said at a media session.
Consider it done. Logano, the wild card in the mix of NASCAR’s four playoff drivers, outlasted all of them to win his first NASCAR Cup championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Logano took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. with 12 laps to go in the Ford EcoBoost 400 and cruised to the victory by 1.725 seconds. Kevin Harvick was third followed by Kyle Busch, as all four drivers chasing a title finished in the top four.
“We did it! We won the championship! I can’t believe it!” Logano said on pit road. Logano was the only driver among the Championship 4 without a Cup title entering the race. And away from the insular crowd at Team Penske, he was hardly a favorite among many fans.
Logano was the first of the four to qualify for the championship mix, although under contentious circumstances. He squeezed past Truex’s car during a last-lap bump-and-run three weeks ago at Martinsville Speedway, pushing Truex out of the way.
Having been roughhoused, the normally affable Truex promised payback.
“I have a free pass,” Truex said last week. “He already told me I could. He told me he’s fair game.”
It never came to that as Logano easily finished first.
“I had nothing for him at the end,” Truex said.
Busch held the lead before smoke from Daniel Suarez’s car brought out the caution with 21 laps to go. Truex passed Busch after the restart and seemed to be primed to successfully defend his series title, but then Logano easily played catchup without resorting to bump-and-run strategy.
“He beat these guys fair and square,” team owner Roger Penske said.
Penske had a bit of blind faith in July 2012 after one of his drivers, AJ Allmendinger, failed a drug test. A ride opened up, and Logano slid in off Brad Keselowski’s recommendation.
“I sat down with Joey and his dad,” Penske said Sunday night. “No agents. It was just us sitting down and shaking hands.”
Logano, who had struggled in his first four Cup seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing, did not disappoint. Now 28, Logano had 20 victories going into Sunday’s race and had finished no lower than eighth in the standings in all but one season since 2013.
“I’ve worked my whole life to win a championship,” he said. “We’ve been so close. … I was going to pass that car no matter what.”
The victory was the proverbial wrap-up of a fabulous year for Logano. In January, Logano and wife Brittany welcomed their first child, son Hudson Joseph. And last week Logano received the fourth annual Comcast Community Champion of the Year award for his philanthropic efforts.
Logano’s philanthropic heart was evident Saturday when he helped give away turkeys to needy families.
Then on to more important business Sunday.
Logano became the eighth driver to win a Cup Series title with Ford Performance. It’s the second series title for Penske.
Logano celebrated with family: His parents as well as Brittany and Hudson.
“When you see the people you love the most, that’s when you break down the most,” he said. “To celebrate that moment with them is so special.”
Joey Logano’s resume no longer needs an asterisk. He’s a NASCAR champion.