Joey Logano put together a career year to win the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.
The Team Penske driver scored three wins on his way to his first NASCAR top tier title, which came to a crescendo with a win in the Championship 4 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“It’s just been an amazing year for us with the championship and the birth of our son,” Logano said of winning the title and the addition of his son Hudson to the family. “Both of those happening in one year, that’s unreal. That doesn’t happen very often. We’re so blessed.”
2018 Statistics
| Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Driver Rating |
| 3 | 13 | 26 | 934 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 97.3 |
Logano’s three victories came in a year that saw the 28-year-old score 26 top-10 finishes, the same as Martin Truex Jr. registered in his 2017 title run and the most for a series champ since Dale Jarrett in 2000.
Logano won for the first time at Talladega in April, snapping a 36-race winless drought that dated back to his Richmond victory the previous year. The victory put him into the playoffs but Logano wasn’t contending for many more wins throughout the remainder of the regular season.
That dynamic changed once the playoff schedule rolled around in September and Logano was able to advance through the first two rounds by putting consistent finishes on the board.
He solidified his spot in the Championship 4 in dramatic fashion with a controversial move around Truex Jr. for the lead on the final lap at Martinsville. The two made contact in the last turn heading for the checkered flag and Logano was ahead to take the win and move on to Miami.
“It was a lot of bumper banging towards the end and a hard race,” Logano said in Victory Lane. ‘You know, we didn’t wreck each other. We bumped into each other a lot and that is what this sport was built on.
“I know a lot of fans out there aren’t too happy about it but it is racing and that is what NASCAR is about and what stock car racing is. I am just glad we finally won here. It has been so long and we have had so many chances and it feels like sweet redemption after everything that has happened here.”
Truex Jr. saw the situation in a much different light.
“He may have won the battle but he ain’t winning the damn war,” Truex said. “I’m just not going to let him win (the championship). I’m going to win it.”
Ironically the championship did come down to the duo at Homestead and again things were decided in dramatic fashion. Truex Jr. held the lead late in the race in his quest to become a back-to-back champion. But Logano made an aggressive move to pass Truex Jr. with 15 laps to go and once around his Toyota set sail for the checkered flag and his first Cup championship.
“We did it! We won the championship! I can’t believe it,” Logano exclaimed after climbing from his No. 22 ride.. “I don’t know what to say. The Shell-Pennzoil team gave me a great Ford Fusion that I needed at the end to do my job. I couldn’t be more proud of them. We were the favorite like I said before the race started. I am so proud of everybody for rising to the occasion. We executed down the stretch like nobody’s business. I have to thank everyone that supports us. Shell and Pennzoil, SKF, Ford. We got Ford not only the driver’s championship but the manufacturers’ championship.
Logano’s title capped a year for team owner Roger Penske that included an Indianapolis 500 win, the IndyCar championship, the 500th career organizational victory and the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crown.
See Also: Big Year for Penske
“Incredible to just drive for him and end up being in one of his best seasons ever,” Logano said. “There is so much that goes into what he does. It doesn’t just happen. It may look like everything that Roger Penske touches turns into gold but it is that way because of the work and people that he surrounded himself with.”
2018 Season Reviews – Monster Energy Cup Series Playoff Drivers
