Logano Locks into Championship 4 with Las Vegas Win

Photo by Johnathan Bachman/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

Joey Logano Wins Las Vegas After Late Pass on Ross Chastain, Onto Title Finale

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A day that saw plenty of Playoff drama came down to a late battle between Ross Chastain and Joey Logano. Racing for a Championship 4 berth, Logano’s fresher tires prevailed over Chastain in the closing laps. Career win number 30 for Logano locks the Penske driver into the Championship 4 for the fifth time, giving him a one-in-four shot at a second Cup title.

Racing the car from his Kansas win last month, Bubba Wallace was fast from the start. Wallace took the lead after the first round of green flag pit stops, and held on to win Stage 1. That would be the end of the high point of the day for Wallace though, as his race quickly went south in Stage 2.

Early in Stage 2, Kyle Larson took Wallace and Kevin Harvick three-wide. The 4 backed out entering turn three, but Larson’s momentum ran the 5 wide into the 45, squeezing Wallace into the outside wall. Wallace immediately retaliated by hooking Larson into the wall. Also collected as an innocent bystander here was Playoff contender Christopher Bell. None of these three drivers were able to continue, putting Bell in a deep points hole. Wallace also walked over to Larson’s car afterwards and had a brief fisticuffs with the defending Cup champion.

Once racing resumed, both Trackhouse cars spent time out front. However, the Stage 2 victory would go to Ryan Blaney. Blaney’s 12 got by the 1 of Ross Chastain on lap 129, holding on for the eighth Stage win of his still-winless year.

Vegas was not kind to either Stage winner, as a restart with 68 to go saw Blaney lose several spots. While chasing down the leader later and shortly after retaking second, Blaney ran into his own issues. The 12 wiggled in turn two, slapping the outside wall hard and then sliding down into the inside barrier. Although the damage on the 12 was not terminal, Blaney did finish a dismal 28th-place, seven laps down.

Under an ensuing caution, the day appeared over for another Penske driver—Joey Logano. A long pit stop waiting on fuel sent the 22 from the top five to outside of the top 10.

Another caution gave Logano the chance to pit for fresh rubber again from seventh, as he was the first on new tires. In less than a lap of racing, Logano went from 14th to eighth, showing the strength of his new tires. This gamble gave Logano what would be the winning hand, as the 22 charged forward.

Chastain quickly took the lead again, but his old tires were no match for Logano’s pace. Inside of the final 10 laps, Logano got to second and Chastain’s bumper. The 22 made the pass for the win and ticket to Phoenix with just three laps left.

Career win number 30 and a third Las Vegas victory for Joey Logano puts him through to the Championship 4 at Phoenix. In three weeks, Logano will be one of the four battling for the Bill France Cup, trying to win it for the second time. Logano’s No. 22 Penske team is the first to lock themselves into the title finale, a feat they also achieved in 2018 when they won it all.

“We’re racing for a championship, let’s go!” Logano exclaimed post-race. “Man, what a great car. Penske cars were all fast. All of them were really fast today. Oh man, all you want to do is get to the Championship 4 when the season starts and race for a championship, and we’ve got the team to do it. I don’t see why we can’t win at this point. Things are looking really good for us, awesome Pennzoil Mustang, this bad boy, and man, just a lot of adversity fought through the last 50 laps or so. I thought we were going to win and then we kind of fell out and then had the tires, and racing Ross was fun. He was doing a good job air-blocking me, and just trying to be patient, and eventually, I was like, I’ve got to go here. Just great to win out here in Vegas again, and it means so much getting to the championship.”

Behind Logano and Chastain, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Dillon were the top 10.

With their early retirements from Las Vegas, both Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney are at a points disadvantage moving onward in the Playoffs.

Race two of the Round of 8 will be next week from Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Dixie Vodka 400 will mark the Next Gen car’s first trek to the south Florida track. Coverage begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Can another Playoff contender join Logano as a lock for Phoenix? 

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Johnathan Bachman/Getty Images for NASCAR