PHOENIX — Joey Logano earned his third NASCAR Cup Series championship and the third in a row for Roger Penske with a win at Phoenix Raceway in the title race.
Logano led 107 of the race's 312 laps, including the final 42 circuits. He held off his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney in the closing laps to seal the win.
Logano is the 10th driver to win at least three Cup championships. His first two titles came in 2018 and 2022.
"I had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. That was all I had there to hold him off," Logano said after the win. "Three [championships], that's really special. I have the best team... Together we show up when it matters most."
Blaney closed within a few car lengths of Logano in the closing laps but could not make the pass.
"Just couldn't quite get there... the restart just didn't work out," Blaney, who was aiming to get his second straight tile, said after the race. "I ran out of time... I'm happy for three in a row for Roger."
William Byron, one of the other Championship 4 drivers, finished in third about five seconds behind. Tyler Reddick finished the worst of the championship contenders in sixth place.
Logano gained the lead early on and won the first stage. Ty Gibbs' day ended on the first lap when he smashed the wall coming out of turn 4, which brought out the race's first caution.
Christopher Bell led after the stage break. Problems on pit road bumped Logano back to fifth to start the second stage.
An unusual situation brought out a red flag period before the second stage began. The pace car smashed into the barrels at the entrance of pit road when exiting the track. The race was delayed around 10 minutes as repairs were made.
Blaney ran the best of the championship drivers in the second stage. He ran down Bell and took the lead for the stage two win.
Reddick's best hopes came at the start of the final stage when he bolted his way from ninth to fifth on a restart that nearly resulted in a large crash. Reddick spent the rest of the race outside the top five while the other championship contenders battled for the win.
Byron gained the lead after choosing not to go to pit road during a late caution. Logano and Blaney passed him soon after the restart with a tire advantage.
Logano stretched out to a four-second lead over Blaney which proved insurmountable.
The path to the title for Logano was all about coming up clutch when it mattered most. His only win of the regular season came at Nashville with an unbelievable fuel mileage stretch. He entered the playoffs near the bottom of the grid and was not expected to be a top contender. Logano won the first playoff race at Atlanta and narrowly made the Round of 8 because of an Alex Bowman penalty. He won at Las Vegas with another fuel mileage gamble to lock himself into the championship field.
End of an era
A championship driver made the last drive in his final full-time season and a championship-winning team closed out its final year.
Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 series champion, finished 17th after starting on the pole. Truex failed to win a race this season, ending his full-time career with 34 wins. He announced his retirement earlier this year but left the door open to part-time races in the future. Truex was a fan favorite who started full-time in the Cup Series in 2005 and spent a decade without contending for a title. His career surged beginning in 2015 with the now-defunct Furniture Row Racing, with whom he won his 2017 title, before joining Joe Gibbs Racing where he was a championship favorite for the remainder of his career.
"Not a good day to end on, but proud of the effort from my team," Truex said after the race. "From here forward I'm gonna go have some fun and do some racing here and there just for fun."
Stewart-Haas Racing shut down operations after the Phoenix race. The four-car team began in 2009 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart and team owner Gene Haas at the helm. The team won two championships and 70 races. Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, and Noah Gragson were the four drivers for the team this season.
A longtime sponsor is also saying goodbye to NASCAR. FedEx, the company found on the hood of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 with Joe Gibbs Racing, is not expected to return to the team in 2025. The shipping company has sponsored Hamlin since he made his first start in the series in 2005.