Joey Logano became the tenth driver to win three titles in their career, the latest was won in Phoenix against the rest of the field.
Most notably fought a good chunk of the race with teammate Ryan Blaney for the title and it came down to the final few laps to decide the outcome. When Blaney finally caught Logano in the final 40 laps, he lacked just a little bit of forward motion to eclipse a driver with essentially the same car, engine, and tune-up.
Blaney was more than three seconds down in the final segment, yet methodically worked his way to the top five, then worked on Logano, but missed by just a few seconds. After the race, Blaney noted he let Logano’s Ford Mustang get too far away to catch him, yet impressed everyone with how close they came to a second title.
The race started with Martin Truex Jr taking the last pole of his career and led the opening nine laps and never led again. The setup basically fell away from the retiring driver, dropping to a disappointing 17th at the end. Logano led the next 50 laps including checkering the first stage.
On to the second stage where Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell led the next 50 circles as Byron, Bell, and Blaney led the most laps Blaney won the second stage.
The final stage was the most exciting as Blaney had his work cut out for him to catch Logano who was more than three seconds ahead. Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson and Byron tried to get out front, but the Penske Fords were just too strong as Logano won the race in front of Blaney, Byron, Larson, and Bell.
The weather was perfect as was the crowd to watch Logano claim his 36th career win and thoroughly celebrate his third feature win.
The latest points stats have Logano on top followed by Blaney, Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Bell.
After 14 Years, Allgaier Finally Wins Xfinity Title in Phoenix
Talk about a ‘good feelin’ win, this one has to be way above the rest after waiting such a long time. Veteran series race Justin Allgaier has been competing in the Xfinity series, known years ago as the Busch series saw Allgaier become competitive pretty quickly, but that elusive title kept slipping away.
Allgaier entered this latest race with issues right off the bat with a lap 4 crash in practice from a fairly serious oil spill.
The team rallies to prepare the backup Chevy Camaro, yet has to start last. Allgaier progressed through the field like a man possessed. Next thing you know, he’s among the top five, hunting for the lead.
Meanwhile, Riley Herbst is dominating the laps and leads 167 after a last lap pass of Allgaier to win the race, yet Allgaier outdistanced his rivals to win that first title.
Others among the top five included Aric Almirola in third followed by Connor Zilisch and Chandler Smith.
Newcomer Herbst earned his third trophy of the season.
Majeski Top Trucker In Phoenix
Ty Majeski had a relatively easy time winning the final Craftsman Truck event of the year and claiming his very first NASCAR truck title.
The race started with polesitter Majeski leading the opening 38 laps as Corey Heim took over. These two led the lion’s share of laps. At lap 95, Majeski led the field for the balance of the event, leading runner-up Heim by nearly four seconds. Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top five.
Majeski, driving a Ford earned his first NASCAR Truck title followed by Heim and Eckes.
QUIK BITS
It was rather fitting for veteran racer Martin Truex Jr to capture the pole position of his final season in Cup competition. The New Jersey native has done a lot of good through the 20 years of NASCAR competition, including 34 Cup wins and a Cup title in 2017. We should see him behind the wheel every once in a while down the road.
From Rumorville
– As bad as Kyle Busch has performed this year with numerous DNFs, 20th in 2024 Cup points, and unforced errors resulting in wrecks and poor finishes. Rumors are swirling around for the 40-year-old to trade in his helmet for a Truck driver hat to pilot his 9-year-old son’s equipment to events.
– The rumors concerning sponsor Fed Ex leaving its position in NASCAR as a sponsor of Denny Hamlin’s race cars for the past 20 years became visibly apparent shortly after the checkered flag fell in Phoenix.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will review the NASCAR finales across the three divisions of Cup, Truck, and Xfinity racing from the Phoenix Oval, along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@gmail.com.
