AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the second round, Joey Logano received a second chance when another competitor was disqualified.
He pounced on the opportunity.
Logano was added to the round of eight following Alex Bowman’s disqualification and immediately went to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the third-round opener. It made Logano the first driver locked into Sunday’s winner-take-all finale at Phoenix Raceway with three weeks to prepare his Ford for the title run.
He capitalized with his his third NACAR Cup Series championship, using a near-flawless drive to hold off teammate Ryan Blaney and give Team Penske its third major motorsports title in less than a month and third consecutive NASCAR title.
Logano actually called his shot after qualifying second Saturday when he confidently acknowledged it was his Cup Series title to lose.
“Yeah, I do. I feel like our car is strong. We got them down…