Within the 10 years of the NASCAR playoff elimination format, one Cup Collection group has seemingly cracked the code on hoist the Invoice France Cup on the finish of every season.
With Joey Logano’s third championship in 2024, Crew Penske has now received three consecutive titles and are titleholders in 4 of the final seven seasons. Ryan Blaney was the person to knock off a possible Logano dynasty in 2023 because the No. 12 driver grabbed his first championship.
An ideal 3-0 within the Era 7 period that’s constructed for parity, the Crew Penske group and its drivers have perfected the trail to successful a title.
Right here’s how they’ve performed so.
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2018: ‘THE BIG THREE AND ME’
The 2018 Cup Collection season was dominated by the trio of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. They mixed to win 20 of the 36 races that 12 months and had been certain for an epic three-way showdown within the championship race.
Logano was no slouch that season, however after he received his first race of the 12 months at Talladega Superspeedway, the “large three” had already received seven of the primary 9 occasions.
With Chase Elliott successful his first profession Cup races and Kurt Busch gaining momentum coming into the postseason, it appeared as if the No. 22 driver was an outsider to make it to Homestead.
This was the primary 12 months Logano started the tendency to capitalize on others’ misfortunes within the postseason.
On the opening playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Logano completed fourth. The primary-ever Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval occasion stuffed with dramatics? Logano completed tenth. He then went on to attain prime 10s in all three races of the Spherical of 12 to maneuver him onto the Spherical of 8.
As the sphere was set to find out the Champ 4, it was clear Busch, Truex and Harvick had been locks, and the one factor to be determined was the fourth driver that might be a heavy underdog to these three.
At Martinsville Speedway, it was all the way down to Truex and Logano for the victory, and whereas Truex labored his method across the No. 22 with out a lot contact, Logano knew he wanted to get his arms soiled to safe his berth … and that’s precisely what he did. Coming into Flip 3 on the ultimate lap, Logano put the bumper to Truex, moved him up the monitor, and Logano was forward at first/end line as the 2 had been in a drag race to the checkered.
A annoyed Truex stated he wasn’t going to let Logano “win the conflict,” and the championship battle was set.
All through the 400-mile occasion at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Truex seemed to be in command to seize his second consecutive title as he had the long-run tempo Logano didn’t have. Nevertheless, a warning with 21 laps to go flipped the ball recreation as Logano had the most effective automobile on brief runs.
On the ultimate restart, Truex set sail for the lead, however Logano shortly caught and handed Truex for the result in rating his maiden championship.
2022: SURVIVE AND ADVANCE
Logano’s second run to the championship was arguably the largest problem of his profession.
Finishes of Twenty seventh (Bristol) and 18th (Roval) in elimination races would finish a driver’s playoff run in every other 12 months in the event that they hadn’t received to advance … however not for Logano.
The primary 12 months of the Subsequent Gen automobile was stuffed with loopy moments, and Logano was in a position to take top-five finishes at Darlington Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway to open the primary two rounds and carry these by to the Spherical of 8 regardless of these being his solely prime 10s within the postseason earlier than the semi-final spherical.
Of all of the tracks within the first six races of the playoffs in 2022, Talladega was the one monitor the place a number of playoff drivers didn’t end thirtieth or worse. Paradoxically, Logano was the worst playoff finisher at ‘Dega with a Twenty seventh-place outcome.
Logano as soon as once more turned the afterburners on within the opening Spherical of 8 race at Las Vegas. This time, outdueling Ross Chastain within the closing laps to seize the checkered flag and punch his ticket to Phoenix.
At Phoenix, it was pure Logano dominance. Main a whopping 187 of 312 laps, the No. 22 was the category of the sphere and joined Kyle Busch as the one energetic multi-time champions at NASCAR’s prime stage.
2023: A NEW HOPE
A down 12 months for Logano meant it was time for a brand new title contender to emerge — enter Ryan Blaney.
Blaney had been the combination over time, making the Spherical of 8 thrice prior however by no means rising as a driver who may win the championship.
That each one modified as Blaney took a web page from Logano’s ebook to money in alternatives to advance and ultimately seize his maiden Cup title at Phoenix.
A symbolic passing of the torch for 2023 at the least, Logano’s pitfalls at Bristol Motor Speedway within the Spherical of 16 elimination grace was a saving grace for Blaney as he and Bubba Wallace scraped into the Spherical of 12 on factors.
From there, Blaney would win in a photograph end towards William Byron at Talladega and hit a walk-off within the penultimate race at Martinsville to place himself within the Championship 4 for the primary time.
Regardless of run-ins with Chastain attempting to battle for the win within the desert, the No. 12 crew ultimately acquired Blaney to again off the No. 1 figuring out what the final word purpose was. After title hopeful Christopher Bell went out early within the race with a brake failure, it was all the way down to Blaney and two Hendrick Motorsports teammates in Kyle Larson and William Byron.
With the quickest automobile on a ultimate 30-lap green-flag run, Blaney slipped by Larson with 20 laps to go to complete the best of the Champ 4 and win his first title.
2024: PERFECTION, PERSONIFIED
Six race wins for Larson, a Common-Season Champion in Tyler Reddick and a driver on the verge of his third consecutive Championship 4 in Christopher Bell.
2024 was formed to be the 12 months one of many above three was going to interrupt Penske’s streak at Phoenix.
Nevertheless, if anybody was going to tug off an underdog run to the championship, it was going to be Logano in a fair 12 months.
After initially being eradicated on the Roval, Logano was given second life as a consequence of Alex Bowman’s DQ and the writing was on the wall for Logano’s path to a 3rd title.
Logano and Crew Penske’s playoff experience got here to full fruition this season and the numbers shouldn’t shock anybody as to how Logano rose to the highest as soon as once more.
Reddick was the most effective within the first 26 races of the season. His common end on this 12 months’s playoffs? 18.5.
Larson snagged two playoff wins in elimination races however in all three opening-round races, on-track errors value the No. 5 workforce factors and victories. Guessed who took benefit of Larson’s errors at Vegas to win their method again to the Champ 4? Joey Logano.
From Reddick occurring his roof, Larson’s pit-road errors to Elliott crashing, Logano would stretch his gasoline tank to the restrict within the ultimate green-flag run to carry off the dominant automobile of the day in Bell to advance to his sixth Championship 4.
As Logano and Reddick received their method into Phoenix, Bell and Larson had been in dire conditions coming into Martinsville. Larson had an honest automobile however wanted a victory to maneuver on whereas Bell had his worst race of the playoffs and was eradicated after being penalized for a security violation on the ultimate lap, permitting for Byron to seize the ultimate spot whereas Blaney outdueled each Larson and Elliott to safe his second Champ 4, eliminating the Hendrick duo.
The most effective two vehicles at Phoenix had been the teammate tandem of Blaney and Logano and regardless of a method gamble from Byron forward of the ultimate restart, it was no match to carry off both of the Penske duo as Logano surged from fifth to first on the restart whereas Blaney chipped away to maneuver into second.
Logano and Blaney scored a 1-2 end to cement Logano’s third title and to kick off a Crew Penske dynasty within the championship race.
Within the final three seasons, Penske has received probably the most playoff races of any group, doubling Joe Gibbs Racing (4) and beating out Hendrick Motorsports (seven).
The playoffs reward successful and that’s precisely what Crew Penske does to succeed in of the height of the Cup Collection 12 months after 12 months.
