AVONDALE, Ariz. — Joey Logano is the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion after winning Sunday’s title race at Phoenix Raceway. Here’s our quick reaction from The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi.
A dominating performance
Gluck: Joey Logano won the first race with the Next Gen car and three more races along the way before capping the season in dominant fashion to win his second NASCAR Cup Series championship. Logano and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney brought the two fastest cars to Phoenix, and no one — despite various pit strategies — had anything for them. The two combined to lead 296 of the 312 laps.
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Bianchi: A dominating performance to the point where it never felt like anyone but Logano was going to leave with the championship trophy. What particularly stood out was how Logano and the No. 22 team never lost control of the race, and really the whole weekend when taking into account that he won the pole on Saturday. It’s easy to lose a championship due to any small mistake, yet not once did Logano or the team slip up. That’s impressive, and it’s why Logano is a very deserving champion.
Gluck: The way Logano approached the entire championship weekend gave a sense of supreme confidence. He spoke about how he was the favorite, said he welcomed the pressure, and reminded everyone it wasn’t just another race. After winning the pole, it felt like everyone was chasing him — and he simply never relented. Now a two-time champion at age 32 and with another solid decade of prime racing ahead of him, it feels like Logano’s future Hall of Fame career is still just getting started.
Bianchi: He had a whole lot of confidence this weekend, obviously — justified considering how he stomped everyone on Sunday. Looking at how things unfolded, him winning the Round 3 opener at Las Vegas was such a big advantage as it allowed crew chief Paul Wolfe and the team to focus almost exclusively on preparing for Phoenix whereas everyone else wasn’t locked in until after Martinsville last week. Maybe Logano would’ve won regardless, but having such a leg up only helps, and it appears Logano, Wolfe and the team capitalized.
GO DEEPER
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Tragic day in Phoenix
Gluck: The news of Coy Gibbs’ death shortly before the race cast a pall over the entire event and made for a somber day. Gibbs had just been at the track hours earlier to celebrate his son Ty’s Xfinity Series championship; shockingly, he later died in his sleep at age 49. The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were left stunned and emotional, but the team decided to race anyway — as is often the case in the face of tragedies in motorsports. Still, it did nothing to diminish the sadness over Joe Gibbs losing both of his children (son J.D. died in 2019).
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Bianchi: The news of Coy Gibbs’ death muted what is usually a festive pre-race atmosphere heading into the championship finale. Most everyone with Joe Gibbs Racing looked like they were in a state of shock beforehand, and how the team was able to still focus on the race is a testament to their resolve. It couldn’t have been easy. Their pain is unimaginable. And it’s especially hard to fathom that Gibbs was proudly celebrating his son’s Xfinity championship on Saturday night, then died less than 24 hours later.
Last word
Gluck: Though it’s too early to say definitively in the moment, it feels like this season will rank as one of the best in NASCAR history. There were a record-tying 19 different winners (including five first-time victors), a thrilling regular season, wide-open playoffs and an all-time move by Ross Chastain that will be replayed for years. Though the Next Gen car certainly has some downsides, including safety concerns and a lack of exciting racing on short tracks, it shined on intermediate tracks and made the season one to remember.
Bianchi: By no means was the 2022 season perfect, with some noticeable hiccups along the way, but overall it’s hard to argue that this season wasn’t a good one. The racing was competitive, there was greater parity than at any point in the past few decades and the innovative idea to race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum proved to be a smashing success. There is optimism that NASCAR is well positioned as it heads into a critical 2023 that will see it negotiate its next television contract and work with teams to help them become more financially solvent.
(Photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
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