How Much Does the NASCAR Championship Matter Anymore?

What Happened?

Joey Logano held off hard-charging teammate Ryan Blaney on Sunday (Nov. 10) to win the NASCAR Cup Series season finale race at Phoenix Raceway, earning his third career series championship. William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five behind them.

Team Penske remains undefeated in championships in the Next Gen car era. It’s also the first time the team has ever ended a Cup season with a 1-2 finish in the standings.

What Really Happened?

Logano won his third career title and became the champion with the lowest average finish in the history of the Cup Series.

And everybody is just so gosh darn happy about it.

Joey Logano’s third NASCAR Cup Series championship has set a few Modern Era records.

– Fewest top-5s of any Cup champion
– Fewest top-10s of any Cup champion
– Lowest average finishing position of any Cup champion

It’s time for NASCAR to tweak the format.

— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) November 11, 2024

Even the most die-hard NASCAR loyalist has to admit they may have a point.

If a driver can have what is statistically the worst year ever run in a championship-winning season under the modern format, then perhaps it begs the question of how much meaning the Cup championship even has at this point.

For example, you might think a driver winning a title may require them to be in top form, but this year that wasn’t the case. In fact, when Logano crossed the line at Phoenix on Sunday, he ended his season with an average finish of 17.6 — the lowest he has had since 2011 and the third-lowest of his career.

Additionally, Logano also earned seven top fives and 13 top 10s in 2024. That’s his least amount since he joined Penske in 2013.

Statistically, the…
10th fastest
22nd best restarter
31st most efficient passer
Is the champion. Congrats Joey Logano on a fantastic season and rising to the occasion. They were the best by the system
Is this what you want to see?

— Auto Racing Analytics (@AR_Analytics) November 10, 2024

But what about the other drivers? Perhaps his competition simply didn’t perform?

Well, no. Not really.

Logano had the 16th-highest average finish out of anyone in the full-time Cup Series field.

For top 10s, he was 13th.

In top fives? 11th. Laps led? Ninth. Stage wins? Eighth. The list goes on.

So … how? How did Logano and the No. 22 Ford Mustang team sneak their way into the playoffs, through all three rounds…