Tag: Team Penske

Penske and Power go red for 2025

Team Penske unveiled a new red livery for Will Power’s familiar dressed-in-black No. 12 Verizon during Sunday’s morning’s NFL on FOX pre-game show. Using an abundance of red with a yellow stripe – reminiscent of the colors found on Chip Ganassi …

Team Penske unveiled a new red livery for Will Power’s familiar dressed-in-black No. 12 Verizon during Sunday’s morning’s NFL on FOX pre-game show.

Using an abundance of red with a yellow stripe – reminiscent of the colors found on Chip Ganassi Racing’s Target-sponsored cars for decades – the Dallara DW12-Chevy with its new look will debut at March’s season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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“This bold, new livery reflects a new chapter in our partnership, showcasing the evolution of our brand and enduring connection with race fans,” said Nick Kelly, VP of partnerships at Verizon. “We’re excited to continue this journey with one of the sport’s most accomplished teams.”

The upcoming NTT IndyCar Series season marks 17 years of sponsorship for Verizon with Team Penske.

“It goes without saying that I owe so much of my success to Verizon,” said Power. “They have been with me throughout my time at Team Penske, with a lot of success both on and off the track.

“We have run a variety of paint schemes in that time, but never one that stands out quite like this one. New paint schemes keep things fresh and add an extra level of excitement to an already exciting time to be in the NTT IndyCar Series.”

Roger Penske ranks 2024 season among team’s best-ever

Roger Penske ranks 2024 as one of the greatest in his history as a team owner after Joey Logano added a NASCAR Cup Series championship to a list of achievements going back to January that also includes victories in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and …

Roger Penske ranks 2024 as one of the greatest in his history as a team owner after Joey Logano added a NASCAR Cup Series championship to a list of achievements going back to January that also includes victories in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the Indianapolis 500, and championships in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Series and FIA World Endurance Championship.

Logano gave Team Penske its third consecutive NASCAR title and its first-ever NASCAR championship one-two after beating teammate Ryan Blaney in Sunday’s season-finale at Phoenix.

The Phoenix result means Penske swept every championship it competes in this year with the exception of IndyCar, where Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou went back-to-back while Penske’s highest-placed driver was Scott McLaughlin in third.

“I guess you’d have to say it’s probably, if not the best, one of the best [years in the team’s history],” Penske said.

“Obviously, not to win the IndyCar championship, which of course is where we started and build our first racing team, was disappointing. But it’s one of those things that… Ganassi, you have to give him credit. He continues to put up great numbers with his guys. I told him, ‘Come on back to NASCAR, it’s gotten easier!’” (ED: Chip Ganassi Racing competed in NASCAR between 2009 and 2021).

Throughout the Phoenix weekend, Logano and Blaney both made reference to a Penske team culture where competing for championships is an expectation, not just an aspiration.

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“Well, as you know, racing is a common thread through our company,” Penske agreed. “It’s our brand, and of course we want to win.

“What I try to do is provide them with what they need to be champions. We’re not always up like this. Sure, we want to win more. We want to win properly. I think when you race in this league with the teams we have here, and you see the execution — you’ve got to give (Penske’s President of NASCAR Operations) Mike Nelson and Travis Geisler (Penske’s NASCAR competition director) and (Logano’s crew chief) Paul Wolfe, (Blaney’s crew chief) Jonathan Hassler, these guys are just outstanding. And we grew them. We didn’t put them in from the top in the final, they came up through the bottom, every one of them. They have that domain knowledge, which makes it so important, and they work as one team.

“What I need to do is continue to push them, because we’re not interested in sitting here and not having the success, and I think that’s been a great thing for us, not only here in NASCAR racing but in all the other series, because it rubs off. We talk about the 24 Hours of Daytona; that rubbed off on these guys. They’re always asking me: How are we doing?

“I think when you think about it, the number of people that we have that touch every race in our company… we have 74,000 people that tomorrow are going to be just climbing the walls with happiness because of the success.

“That’s what I’m in it for. It’s not another race. It is, but it isn’t. It’s about being able to show our people and our partners what kind of company we are. This certainly helps.”

Blaney used up everything he had to hunt down Logano at Phoenix

Ryan Blaney was physically spent after Sunday’s Cup Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway – wiped after trying to chase down and overtake his teammate. The 2023 champion handed the torch back to Joey Logano when he couldn’t get there. Blaney …

Ryan Blaney was physically spent after Sunday’s Cup Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway — wiped after trying to chase down and overtake his teammate.

The 2023 champion handed the torch back to Joey Logano when he couldn’t get there. Blaney could see Logano’s bumper, but there was no serious challenge for the lead in the final laps. The Team Penske drivers finished first and second in the race and the championship — the third straight for team owner Roger Penske.

“I was tired, man,” Blaney said. “I was driving hard and huffing and puffing and felt like I was going to pass out after the race. I was working hard trying to close the gap down. There were a lot of similarities to last week, and I just didn’t quite get there this week.”

Blaney restarted sixth when the race went green for the final time with 54 laps to go. He did not make up ground quickly and spent a lot of time having to battle Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson. It wasn’t until 35 laps to go when Blaney prevailed for third position.

Already, though, Logano was driving away. The No. 22 took the lead one lap after the restart. Blaney took the second position from William Byron, another championship contender, with 22 laps to go. There was a 2s deficit Blaney had to erase to get to Logano.

“Everybody put on defensive clinics today,” Blaney said. “Everybody I tried to pass. Everybody did, so props to them for that. They did a great job. It’s just what you have to do. I mean, [Larson] did it to me, [Byron] did it to me, [Logano] did it to me. It’s just what you’ve got to do if you’re struggling, and it just buys you time. It’s just part of the sport because it’s so powerful.

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“The defensive line is so powerful [with] dirty air. You have to do it if you have a faster car behind you coming down in these moments. I don’t blame them for doing it. Is it the funnest thing in the world? No, because I’ve lived that story many, many times. I had to work … to get by the No. 5, and I had to work … to get to the No. 24 and pass him, and I had to work my tail off to run Joey down from a long ways back. As I’m doing it, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I think I’m going to get there — get close — but I don’t know if I’m going to have anything to pass him. I can’t save because I’m never going to get there if I save.’

“Martinsville was a little bit different because I had more laps left. Here, I really just had to use my [expletive] up really hard to get close, and then I just didn’t really have anything left there, so it was a little bit of both. My tires were spent, and he did a good job of placing his car where he needed to be.”

The teammates were the class of the championship field. Blaney finished sixth in the first stage and won the second stage. He led a total of 12 laps and, at times, was in control of the championship. Logano won the first stage and finished second in the second stage.

Sunday’s run to the finish saw Blaney and Logano among a handful of drivers who pitted under the final caution. The field had already started a green flag pit cycle when the final caution occurred. Byron stayed out to inherit the lead, having pitted only one lap before the yellow.

Blaney and Logano restarted in the third row.

“I just got bottled up,” Blaney said. “I took sixth [because] I thought the top was probably the better row, personally, and got put in kind of a weird aero spot. A lot of guys washed up in front of me there through [Turns] 1 and 2, and Joey got clear, and then I only got to fourth. That was the outcome.

“Joey got to the lead pretty quickly with how the restart went, and it worked out for him. By the time I settled in, I was fourth and had to work my [tail] off to try to get by the No. 5 and the No. 24 and run Joey down, and then I had nothing left. Everything was spent on that car. … Yeah, just the restart, if I would have just been closer, if I would have come out second or so, I wouldn’t have had to work as hard and come from as far back and maybe would have had a little bit better shot.”

Logano holds off charging Blaney for third Cup Series title at Phoenix

Joey Logano came into this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series championship-decider in Phoenix confident that his experience and preparation would ultimately make the difference. He was right. Logano nailed a restart with 52 laps remaining, vaulting from …

Joey Logano came into this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series championship-decider in Phoenix confident that his experience and preparation would ultimately make the difference. He was right.

Logano nailed a restart with 52 laps remaining, vaulting from fifth to first in two laps, and then held off a surging Ryan Blaney over the closing laps to seal his third championship and give Team Penske its third title in as many years.

“To be able to race (Blaney) to the end, it was fun,” Logano said. “But honestly, I knew that he was going to be our toughest competition going into the weekend. I said that to our guys. I said, Blaney is going to have the speed. We’ve got to beat him on the details. That’s where we have the advantage over them. But the speed, no, he’s got turned up pretty high.

“Everything worked out well, and the details at the end, the restart and getting out there and managing, that was really the difference.”

His day wasn’t without a couple of curveballs. A slight delay with his right-front tire cost him four spots during his first pit stop. Later, his jackman took ill and needed to be removed from the pit wall, prompting an intra-Penske crew scramble that resulted in Austin Cindric’s jackman moving across to the No.22.

Logano’s path to the playoffs was initially closed when he missed the cutoff in the Round of 12, but then reopened when Hendrick Motorsport’s Alex Bowman was disqualified from the Charlotte race due to his car failing a post-race technical inspection.

The Phoenix win was Logano’s fourth of the season and the title now places him in the same company as Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart as a three-time champion.

Blaney was left behind while Logano shot off at the last restart, but his No. 12 car had plenty of speed and he made relatively easy work of closing down the gap to Logano as the pair made their way through traffic. Actually getting past him was another matter though, and despite exploring every conceivable line through the final few laps, Logano was able to keep him in check.

“Worn out,” Blaney told NBC Sports. “Just couldn’t quite get there. Tried really hard to do so. The restart didn’t really work out. [Logano] got too far away from me. Took a while to pass a couple of guys and just couldn’t get by Joey, but congrats to him and the rest of the No. 22 team. They put together a great playoffs. If I’m going to race somebody, I’m happy it’s him for the championship. And a 1-2 for Roger [Penske], three in a row for Roger is amazing for him and Ford. Just didn’t have enough at the end. Heck of a battle.”

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Williams Byron made it a 1-2-3 for Championship 4 drivers, but his No. 24 Hendrick Chevy didn’t have an answer to the speed of the leading Penskes. His best chance came when he stayed out longer before making his final stop, which would have given him fresher tires for the run to a flag, but a caution immediately after he returned to the track allowed the other contenders to pit under yellow and negate his advantage.

The other championship hopeful, 23XI’s Tyler Reddick, didn’t have the pace to match his rivals all afternoon and had to settle for sixth.

The race was largely incident-free, with just two cautions for accidents. The first came early, when Ty Gibbs walled the No.54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the second lap. The second, on lap 150 – just after Byron’s stop – was prompted by Zane Smith hitting the barriers in the No.71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Not wanting to be overshadowed by the race cars, a pace car also ushered in a few laps under yellows when it made a very late move to pull off the track, got out of shape and took out a large plastic barrel.

Martin Truex Jr led some laps at the start of his final race as a full-time competitor, but he faded as the race progressed and finished a disappointed 17th.

RESULTS

Blaney tops final Cup Series practice session of 2024 at Phoenix

Ryan Blaney paced NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Phoenix Raceway, leading the way for the four title contenders in the process. Blaney, the defending series champion, put down a fast lap of 132.479mph (27.174s). While most of the fast laps …

Ryan Blaney paced NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Phoenix Raceway, leading the way for the four title contenders in the process.

Blaney, the defending series champion, put down a fast lap of 132.479mph (27.174s). While most of the fast laps were set early in practice, he went to the top of the leaderboard on his 21st lap before running a total of 46 laps in practice.

Martin Truex Jr. was second fastest at 132.324mph and Kyle Larson was third at 132.193mph. William Byron, another title contender, was fourth at 132.004mph. He ran 50 laps total.

Austin Cindric rounded out the top five at 131.989mph. Corey Lajoie was sixth at 131.858mph; Ty Gibbs, seventh at 131.848mph; Denny Hamlin, eighth at 131.791mph and Joey Logano, the third title contender, ninth. Logano’s fastest lap was 131.757mph. He ran 43 laps.

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Chase Briscoe completed the top 10 at 131.738mph.

Tyler Reddick was the slowest of the four championship contenders, ending up 21st at 130.794mph and ran 24 laps.

There was one caution during practice. Jimmie Johnson briefly halted proceedings when he spun off Turn 2 early in the session. He did manage to kept his car off the wall and ran 35th.

There are 40 drivers entered in the season finale.

Blaney was also fastest in the best 10 consecutive lap average. Logano was second in the category followed by Hamlin, Larson, and Byron. Reddick was the 10th fastest of the drivers who clocked 10 consecutive laps.

NEXT: Cup Series qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET Saturday.

Team Penske has two shots at rare feat of three straight Cup Series crowns

Team Penske has the best odds of the NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders in this Sunday’s race, with half of the Championship 4 field from its stable. But those aren’t the only numbers Penske can focus on. Not only is the organization chasing …

Team Penske has the best odds of the NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders in this Sunday’s race, with half of the Championship 4 field from its stable. But those aren’t the only numbers Penske can focus on. Not only is the organization chasing its third consecutive Cup Series championship but what would be a fourth in seven years.

“I didn’t even realize that,” said Walt Czarnecki, Team Penske executive vice president. “I appreciate you reminding me. I did look at some stats that I think under this new format, we’ve been in the final four, I think, eight out of the 11 years. Which, to me, is pretty amazing. But I had no idea that we had that kind of performance facing us.

“But… one race at a time — that’s how we’re looking at Phoenix. If we accomplish it, that would be great. It’s a testimony to the people who make it happen.”

The elimination format began in 2014 with NASCAR deciding its champion in a one-race winner-take-all scenario with four drivers. There has been at least one Penske driver in eight of the 11 years, which includes this Sunday with both Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney in the hunt. The only years in that span a Penske driver did not compete for the championship were 2015, ’19 and ’21.

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Logano clinched his spot in Sunday’s race with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at the start of the Round of 8. The two-time series champion from 2018 and ’22 has been in the championship race in each even year since 2014.

Blaney’s win last weekend at Martinsville Speedway gives him the chance to defend his 2023 championship. However, there has not been a repeat champion in the elimination era.

“It has been a pretty exciting time,” Czarnecki said. “Since Joey won that race at Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, locking him in, the excitement level and preparation level have really amped up at our shop in Mooresville, that’s for sure. And then, of course, with Ryan’s win (Sunday), that’s compounded it. We will be prepared, I promise you.”

Logano has three wins this season, two of which have come in the postseason. Blaney also has three wins. Don’t be surprised to see the two tenacious veterans going at it, as Team Penske is comfortable letting its drivers battle one another without giving an inch.

“No team orders,” Czarnecki said. “I know that Joey and Ryan are going to be 110%. They both want it. I saw Joey when he came over to victory lane to congratulate Ryan; they’re great friends off the track, and it’s going to be fun to watch. We’re going to give them the best possible equipment, each of them, and it’s going to be up to them to do the rest.”

Roger Penske fielded his first car in the Cup Series in 1972. He did not win a championship until the 2012 season, when Brad Keselowski brought home the title.

Rick Hendrick is the last team owner to win three or more consecutive Cup Series championships. Hendrick Motorsports most recently won five straight from 2006 through 2010, which topped its previous four straight from 1995 through ’98.

Nasr set for Penske IndyCar test at Thermal

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s newest IMSA GTP champion has gotten the nod to head west for the Nov. 19 test at The Thermal Club, where Felipe Nasr will join Team Penske on the growing list of drivers to conduct single-day evaluation runs for their …

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s newest IMSA GTP champion has gotten the nod to head west for the Nov. 19 test at The Thermal Club, where Felipe Nasr will join Team Penske on the growing list of drivers to conduct single-day evaluation runs for their respective teams.

The Brazilian, who spent the 2015-16 seasons in Formula 1 with Sauber, has been a popular choice for IndyCar testing after making his debut in 2019 at Mid-Ohio with the team known today as Arrow McLaren, in 2020 at Sebring with Carlin Racing where he was the fastest among the 15 drivers, again shortly after during pre-season testing at Circuit of The Americas with Carlin, and once more — this time for Team Penske — in 2023 at Sebring.

“Although he is fully committed to our PPM sports car program, with his F1 and open-wheel background, he always has his hand up to test for us when possible to remain current,” Team Penske president Tim Cindric told RACER.

Nasr will share the private road course with Meyer Shank Racing’s evaluation driver Logan Sargeant, Arrow McLaren’s Enzo Fittipaldi and a few more — —likely Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s new signing, reigning Indy NXT champion Louis Foster — are expected to make the western trek just ahead of the Thanksgiving break.

Blaney wins Martinsville elimination race as Bell throws a Hail Mary from behind

For the second straight year, defending series champion Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4. As Blaney took the checkered flag to win Sunday’s Xfinity 500, …

For the second straight year, defending series champion Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4.

As Blaney took the checkered flag to win Sunday’s Xfinity 500, Christopher Bell made a kamikaze move into the final corner in a futile attempt to deprive William Byron of the final spot in the next Sunday’s title event at Phoenix Raceway.

Bell drove hard into Turn 3 on the final lap, passed Bubba Wallace for the one point he needed, slipped up into the outside wall and rode the fence through Turn 4, committing what NASCAR deemed a safety violation. Bell was penalized four positions to 22nd as Byron advanced by four points.

 

Blaney passed Chase Elliott for the lead on lap 486 of 500 and pulled away to win by 2.593s over the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who was eliminated from the Playoffs along with teammate and third-place finisher Kyle Larson.

“I’m worn out out—I’ve got nothing left,” said Blaney, who ran down both Elliott and Larson from three seconds back after a restart on lap 414.

“Oh, my God, I’m tired. Good battle, and this car hung on longer than most, and I could really make some ground.”

The victory was his third of the season, his second at the 0.526-mile short track and the 13th of his career.

Blaney joins Team Penske teammate Joey Logano in the Championship 4 after triumphing in a race that featured Goodyear’s option tire on the right sides of the cars and a softer compound on the left.

“The last 70 or so laps I tried to save my rear [tires] the best I could, because that’s where I started struggling later in the runs,” said Blaney, who led 32 laps. “I hated I had to lay the bumper to some guys, but I had to do it. It was nice to pass the No. 9 (Elliott) clean. I laid the bumper to a couple guys that I wish I didn’t have to, but I needed to get going, so it was a long night.

“I appreciate everybody for getting [the No. 12 Ford] better through the night. Thank goodness. I think that’s the most tired I’ve been after a race in a long time.”

Byron came home sixth behind Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin, as the Chevrolets of Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain ran side-by-side behind him on the closing laps, boxing in the Ford of Brad Keselowski, who led a race-high 170 laps and won the second stage.

After the race, before Bell’s penalty, Byron was adamant that Bell had committed a violation by riding the wall in the final corner.

“He rode the wall, and there’s a clear rule against riding the wall,” Byron said, referring to the prohibition instituted after Ross Chastain shot around the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 at Martinsville to advance to the Championship 4 in 2022.

“In my eyes, that’s what counts… We all sat in meetings and talked about whether there should be a rule against it. His (Bell’s) front tires were off the ground coming off [Turn] 4 there, against the fence.”

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After the ruling, Bell congratulated Byron on his advancement to the Championship 4. Bell had recovered from an early spin in Turn 2 and an unscheduled pit stop to tighten a loose wheel to make his last-ditch bid for the final Playoff spot.

Had Bell retained his 18th-place finish, he would have edged Byron for the Championship 4 berth on a tiebreaker.

“It was Martinsville, and it was a Round of 8 cutoff race,” Bell said. “Unfortunately, I was on the bad side of it. Made a lot of mistakes, ran a sloppy race. It is a shame that it comes down to a ball-and-strike call like that.

“You can look at both sides of the fence—the Chevy organization had a lot of blocking going on so that the No. 24 (Bryon) didn’t lose positions. I slid into the wall [on the final lap] and kept my foot into it. I guess that is a losing move.”

Along with Larson, Elliott and Bell, Hamlin failed to make the Championship 4, finishing 24 points below the elimination line.

Dillon finished seventh on Sunday, followed by Chastain, Keselowski and Logano.

Elliott won the first stage and led 129 laps. Larson led 71 laps and Byron 51 in a race that featured nine cautions for 66 circuits.

Championship 4 driver Tyler Reddick, who won last Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, fell put of the race after completing 458 laps and finished 34th.

However, Reddick, Logano, Blaney and Byron will start on even terms in next Sunday’s Championship 4 Race at Phoenix (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

Blaney has just one more chance after Homestead defeat

Ryan Blaney has plenty to think about leaving Homestead-Miami Speedway after being bested by Tyler Reddick in the final two corners on the final lap. Blaney finished second in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 and remains out of a transfer spot with …

Ryan Blaney has plenty to think about leaving Homestead-Miami Speedway after being bested by Tyler Reddick in the final two corners on the final lap.

Blaney finished second in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 and remains out of a transfer spot with one race left in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 8. The reigning series champion had taken the lead from Denny Hamlin with two laps to go Sunday, but was then passed by Reddick, who flew by on the outside, on the final lap in Turn 3. The side-by-side between the two drivers didn’t last long as Reddick finished the pass in Turn 4 and drove to the victory.

“It’s obvious disappointment,” Blaney said. “I had a great shot to win and I didn’t have a very good last lap. Man, I thought I got into [Turn] 3 hard and [Reddick] just blitzed it off in there and it stuck for him, which is pretty impressive. I hate we gave one away there like that. I don’t know if we gave it away; we got the lead back after losing it on the restart and the last lap just didn’t really play out for us.

“It definitely stinks. I appreciate everybody on the [No.] 12 team for bringing a really fast race car. We had a great shot to go to Phoenix, and still got one more chance, so we still have to look forward to that.”

Blaney restarted on the inside of the front row for the final green flag with seven laps to go, but Hamlin grabbed the top spot by going to the outside of Blaney and Reddick in Turn 1.

With two laps to go, the Team Penske driver used the bottom lane to get to the inside of Hamlin for the race lead. He completed the pass in Turns 3 and 4 coming to the white flag. Reddick went to second place on the final lap off Turn 2 and easily drove around the outside of Blaney, who left a lane open, going into Turn 3.

“Yeah, a shame,” Blaney said. “I’ll be picking through what I should have done different [all night], probably, and that’s just the way it goes. Overall, really proud of the effort and hopefully we can bring it to them next week.”

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Monday will be the first chance Blaney has to look ahead to Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 3, 2 p.m. ET). Until then, he admitted, “This feeling will suck,” after being so close to a victory. Although he tries not to stew on results, he said there are tons of things he could have done differently on the final lap.

To start, there was no getting to the bottom in Turns 1 and 2, which gave Reddick clean air as he moved around Hamlin. It wasn’t even possible to slide up in front of Reddick in Turn 3 — the timing worked better for Reddick to drive it further into the corner and make it stick.

“The Toyotas could do that really good all day,” Blaney said. “Their entry speed was crazy fast and it benefitted him there. It stinks. It was an up and down day and it was a shame to lose one on the last lap like that.”

Blaney led 47 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway and earned 13 playoff points. He’s now 38 points out of a transfer spot going into the final race of the penultimate round, but he is the defending winner at Martinsville.

“I’m not fired up right now for Martinsville,” Blaney said. “I’ll take the night to replay a couple things and figure out what I could have done better. Tomorrow morning, we’ll re-stack and get ready for Martinsville.

“I’m excited, though. I’m super excited about the speed we had today. I can’t complain about that. Last week’s speed was great, too, before we got in the wreck. Hopefully we bring that same speed to Martinsville.”

Logano steals Vegas win and berth in Cup Series Championship 4

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his Team Penske’s fuel strategy call work to perfection Sunday afternoon to claim victory in the South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earn the first of four NASCAR Cup …

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his Team Penske’s fuel strategy call work to perfection Sunday afternoon to claim victory in the South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earn the first of four NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 berths.

Logano led only the final six laps on the Vegas 1.5-miler but was able to hold off the afternoon’s most dominant car, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by a slight 0.662s in the final few laps.

Bell, on the other hand, led a race-best 155 of the race’s 267 laps and won Stage 2, but he pitted 35 laps later than Logano and was not able to make up the nearly 30s advantage Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford held on track after Bell’s stop.

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suaraez, who also used the same strategy as Logano, finished third after leading 57 laps, followed by Playoff driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman.

 

It’s been quite the turn of fortune for Logano, who a week ago following a race at the Charlotte Roval thought he was eliminated from the Playoffs only to receive news from NASCAR hours after the checkered flag that he was reinstated. Bowman initially held that Playoff position, but his car was ruled illegal in post-race inspection and he was disqualified after the Roval race.

That meant Logano, not Bowman would advance to this Round of 8 which includes two more races – next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway and then Nov. 3 at Martinsville, Va. — to set the four-driver Championship field. Of note, Logano’s last Las Vegas Playoff race win in 2022 propelled him to the series championship.

“Man, we did some fuel mileage stuff, didn’t we? Holy crap,’’ said a smiling Logano, whose four career wins now at Las Vegas ties NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for most all-time at the track.

“What an incredible turn of events here the last week. Very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’re going to the Championship 4 again. It’s real. Great fuel mileage, great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she’s full, giving me the info to keep the lead that we needed to. We’re going racing again. What an incredible situation, man. I’m so blessed.

“Just incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotter. It takes all of us to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and be able to maximize it at the end.’’

Bell was as disappointed as Logano was elated.

“I don’t know [how to come to terms with the race ending] and I don’t think I have come to terms yet’’ said Bell, who is now 0-for-13 in wins after starting a race from pole position.

“Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, pit crew did an amazing job and (crew chief) Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.

“The points look pretty good, but you’re never safe in this deal,’’ Bell added. “We needed to win today and unfortunately we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next one.’’

Las Vegas certainly provided major implications for the eight Playoff drivers – three of them were eliminated from winning contention by Stage 2, two more struggled with pit stops thereafter, leaving Logano, Bell, Byron and eighth place finisher Denny Hamlin to lead the championship presence among the top 10. Bell’s afternoon was good enough to propel him into the championship points lead with a 42-point advantage on the cutoff line.

Hamlin’s eighth-place effort was impressive after a difficult day for his No. 11 Toyota team, which endured a challenging day on pit road before also using a similar fuel-save plan to Logano.

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His teammate, JGR’s Martin Truex Jr., was sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Hamlin, Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski’s Chris Buescher.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished 11th – falling off the lead lap at one point after also having a bad pit stop. He is now second in the points standings, 35 points above the cutoff line and his Hendrick teammate Byron holds that important fourth place, 27 points ahead of Hamlin.

Regular season champion and the race’s outside polesitter Tyler Reddick finished 35th, eliminated after a roll-over accident in tight racing on lap 90. The accident collected fellow Playoff driver, Chase Elliott along with Brad Keselowski and reigning series champion and Playoff driver Ryan Blaney.

“We can still have a good day at Homestead and be in the mix in Martinsville,’’ a frustrated Reddick said. “Ideally, yeah, it would have been nice to win today. It would be nice to win next week, and that is what we will focus on, but thankfully we got 10 stage points in stage one, and it’s not like we are absolutely out of it on points, yet. We are going to have to be perfect here on out, probably.”

It was a rough weekend from even before the race’s green flag for Blaney, who suffered a flat tire in Saturday’s opening practice that put his primary No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the wall. He started his backup from last in the 37-car field Sunday and was steadily moving forward before being caught up in that multi-car accident with Reddick and Elliott. He finished 32nd. Elliott was 33rd.

Hamlin is fifth in the championship standings, 27 off Byron. Reddick is 30 points below the cutoff line, followed by Blaney (-47) and Elliott (-53).

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to South Florida for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell is the defending race winner.

RESULTS