By David Morgan, Associate Editor
AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Cup Series field learned an important lesson on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway: Never give Joey Logano a second chance. He’ll make you pay.
And make them pay, he did.
The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was down and out after the conclusion of the Round of 12 in the Playoffs a month ago, but a fellow competitor’s disqualification gave him new life and he made it count.
Logano went out and won in the opening race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas to secure his spot in the championship race and crew chief Paul Wolfe having an additional three weeks to prepare, his team came into Phoenix on kill and set the tone that the title would have to go through them.
“We got them down now. We just have to put our foot on their throats. We feel pretty strong about our team, and these type of pressure situations we feel really solid about as far as our team in these moments,” Logano said after qualifying on Saturday, illustrating just how confident he was in his team.
After starting on the outside of the front row, Logano jumped to the lead on Lap 10, winning the first stage and finishing the second in third-place.
In the final stage, it would come down to a final restart with 54 laps to go to determine who would be bringing home the championship trophy.
With William Byron restarting in the lead among the Championship 4 and Logano starting in sixth, the 34-year-old Connecticut native took the bull by the horns when the green flag dropped for the final time, powering to the lead in less than a lap with a bold three-wide pass on Byron and Christopher Bell.
From there, Logano was able to set sail, increasing his lead with each passing lap, but lurking behind him would be his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, who had a battle on his hand to get around the cars between him and Logano to try and give his teammate a run for his money down the stretch.
Though Blaney chewed into his lead and got to Logano’s rear bumper, the cagey veteran was able to hold off the advances of his teammate to cross the line in first, banking both the race win and a historic third championship.
“I love the Playoffs. I love it, man. What a race!” Logano said. “What a Team Penske battle there at the end. Had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. And he had a lot of long run speed there, and it was all I had there to hold him off.
“Man, three of them, that’s…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NASCAR – Motorsports Tribune…