Joey Logano secured his third NASCAR Cup Series championship win at the Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.
Logano won the championship after fending off Ryan Blaney, last year's cup champion and a fellow Team Penske racer. Racers jockeyed for 312 laps on the mile-long course where Logano held the lead for 107 laps.
Michael Phelps started the race as the honorary pace car driver around 1:30 p.m. Phelps said this was his first time watching a NASCAR race at the Cup Series championship level.
"I've never been on a track to a race in this environment — seeing this excitement level," Phelps said. "For me, I like being in person. I like being able to see all the small details of it."
After the laps following the pace car, the race was off to a slow start with Ty Gibbs crashing after the first complete lap. Gibbs competed but was not one of four racers competing for the Cup Series Champion crown.
Logano and Blaney were joined in the championship competition by William Byron, who placed third in the Sunday race, and Tyler Reddick, who placed sixth during the race.
The race was split into three stages with Logano leading after 60 laps in Stage 1, Byron leading after 125 laps in Stage 2 and Logano taking home the win following the remaining 127 laps.
In lap 69 the pace car brought an unusual pause to the race when it crashed into the sand barrels at the end of pit road. The red flag was out until lap 72 when it was back to green in Stage 2.
Another accident occurred toward the end of the race when Zane Smith backed into the wall of turn 1 and ended his day after 247 laps.
The race saw a tight finish between Blaney and Logano with Blaney within a second of Logano around lap 297 and within just half a second with 10 laps remaining.
"I enjoy racing Joey (Logano). He and I push each other really hard," Blaney said at a press conference after the race. "We lean on each other a lot and try to learn from each other."
Logano led other racers when the white flag went out for the last lap. He ended with Blaney as close as 0.167 seconds behind him in the last laps.
Logano has the fifth most titles in NASCAR history behind Jeff Gordon with four and Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jimmie Johnson with seven a piece.
After securing his win, Logano burned rubber with donuts in front of the crowd while holding his team flag high. Logano got out of his car to celebrate with his team.
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"I've got the best team," Logano said while on the racetrack. "I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I’ve got the best team."
At Victory Lane, Logano continued to thank his team including crew chief Paul Wolfe. Logano shared the stage with his pit crew, family, NASCAR President Steve Phelps, announcers and sponsors.
"I don't think anyone works harder than us," Logano said on the Victory Lane stage. "So, so proud of the team."
Edited by Jack Barron, Sophia Braccio and Natalia Jarrett.
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Alysa is a senior studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in political science. This is her fifth semester with The State Press. She has also worked at The Arizona Republic.
