It is surprising to assume NASCAR’s playoff format has been round for 20 years. Its Chase for the Cup, the unique ‘new’ playoff format, kicked off in 2004. In its first three years, it produced three champions from three completely different organizations. It appeared to be undertaking precisely what NASCAR meant it to do, retaining the title combat attention-grabbing to the very finish. After which got here alongside Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports workforce to smash their hopes into one million Lowe’s-colored items.
NASCAR has at all times been eager to tweak the format, and are available 2014, the sequence’ full overhaul shocked the racing world. The brand new, multi-round elimination format would hopefully guarantee no single driver might ever recreation the system like that once more. Besides, after Joey Logano’s third title win in Phoenix, together with Staff Penske clinching a 3rd consecutive Cup title, you need to marvel if perhaps they’d efficiently completed NASCAR’s nightmare: Cracking the code to successful the playoff recreation because the No. 48 as soon as did.
Championship victory lane: NASCAR Dash Cup Sequence 2010 champion Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorspor
Photograph by: Motorsport.com / ASP Inc.
Consider it this fashion, Logano is that this format’s Jimmie Johnson. Now, stick with me as a result of I am not saying Logano has had Johnson-esque seasons. However he’s the one driver to win three titles on this format, gathering three of the final seven Cup championships. After final weekend’s 1-2, Penske has now received three consecutive which hasn’t been achieved because the Johnson period. Clearly, it isn’t the 5 years of dominance the Johnson/Knaus loved, however it’s nonetheless fairly the feat for a format designed to make sure any type of dominance or constant successful is prevented. But, no driver has made extra closing 4 appearances than Logano.
A take a look at the years the place Logano has received reveals a standard development: Each single time he received the Cup, he at all times received the primary race within the Spherical of 8 too. Logano superior on by shoving Martin Truex Jr. out of the way in which to win Martinsville in 2018, out-dueled Ross Chastain at Vegas in 2022, and bested everybody in a fuel-mileage race at Vegas in 2024. For the 2 weeks that adopted these important race wins, his workforce centered solely on the finale, sufficient that he often ran terribly on the races in between. But he’d then go on to win the finale and title. He by no means received greater than two races through the 26-race common season of any of those title runs both, however he did win when it mattered most.Â
Beware the 48…and now the 22?
When the Chase for the Cup kicked off annually, everybody knew that they needed to settle for Johnson and the No. 48’s eventual success. It would not (and did not) matter what kind of season they’d as much as that time. Johnson and workforce at all times discovered a manner in by these closing ten races. Hell, he even managed to win a pair extra titles as NASCAR modified the format round on him, together with his record-tying seventh title within the Championship 4 period. That really can be the primary time Johnson had ever received at Homestead, as a result of in all the years earlier than that, he by no means wanted to (factors racing was nonetheless an important a part of the outdated playoff format). Like Logano, he did precisely what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, and benefited enormously due to it.
These groups mainly used the primary 26 race weeks to organize and ideal their vehicles for the races that really mattered. Simply take a look at Logano earlier within the yr. His crew at all times appeared to be figuring issues out and stumbling over themselves at first of those seasons that lead into title wins. In 2024, he had only one top-five end within the first 14 races. In 2022, Logano was a 3rd of the way in which by the season earlier than he even received a race. In 2018, it was the identical story once more, with a single superspeedway victory through the entirety of the common season.
Logano’s constant strategy of successful — when he wanted to — is extraordinarily harking back to the Hendrick No. 48 of the late 2000s. Once more, Logano is not dominating like Johnson did, however that is not what this explicit format calls for. We’re taking a look at a format the place you possibly can technically win the Daytona 500, DNF the following 25 races, then proceed to bounce by every spherical on the again of race wins and seize the massive prize.
If you can also make the playoffs and survive the primary two rounds, you are just one win away from being inside attain of the crown. It is irritating to many as Logano is taking largely common seasons, like his 17.1 common end this yr, the lowest-ever for a championship-winning driver, and turning them into gold, however he is merely gaming the system higher than these round them, similar to the No. 48 of outdated.
Ryan Blaney, Staff Penske, Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang and Joey Logano, Staff Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Photos
And this had bled over to his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, who earned just one common season win in 2023 and two in 2024 earlier than gathering playoff wins on the most crucial moments — together with the Spherical of 8. The place Blaney differs from Logano is that he tends to win the closing race of that penultimate spherical as an alternative of the opener.
On the flip aspect, and what makes the 2 completely different, is almost all of Johnson’s wins throughout that five-year run had been earned through the common season. Why? As a result of — and I do know I am repeating myself however I wish to emphasize this — that is what the format demanded. The ultimate ten races labored as a type of a mini-season with probably the most factors over these ten weeks serving as the trail in the direction of the title. There have been nonetheless bonus factors, however they got here from wins through the common season, so that is what he did whereas remaining constant within the finals stretch.
Whereas nonetheless a pressure of nature within the postseason, 22 of Johnson’s 35 wins between 2006 and 2010 got here through the common season. He solely went out to win a bunch of playoff races when he could not shake his rivals. For instance, in 2007, he was trailing Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon midway by the postseason, so like flipping a swap, Johnson proceeded to win 4 of the final 5 races, crushing the hopes of his fellow Corridor of Famer.
Joey Logano, Staff Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang, winner, Burn Out
Photograph by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Photos
As for Logano, he wasn’t at all times like this. Wanting on the strongest season of his profession (2015), he completed sixth in factors. That yr, he appeared to go 100% in each single playoff race whether or not he was locked into the following spherical or not. He ended up sweeping a whole spherical, which has by no means been achieved by anybody else on this format (though Larson did win three in a row throughout two rounds in 2021).
However Logano did not make it to the Championship 4 that yr as a result of in his quest to win it doesn’t matter what, he drew the ire of Matt Kenseth by spinning him out within the battle for the win. Kenseth took revenge at Martinsville whereas Logano was main, sinking his 2015 title bid. Possibly he discovered one thing from that, as what we’re seeing now’s a much more decisive Logano who’s aggressive, however solely when it issues. Maybe Kenseth did him a favor that day, serving to to form the three-time champion we now know.
The Chase for the Cup had Johnson and folks hated it as a result of he was too dominant. The elimination format in the present day has Logano, however individuals hate it as a result of he isn’t dominant sufficient through the yr. When NASCAR used a season-long format, individuals hated {that a} driver [Kenseth] with a single win in March might level their technique to the title. Irrespective of the system, somebody goes to determine it out how you can hack it and make the most of that chance. That is simply how it’s. Logano and Staff Penske collectively seem to have harvested that energy. We’ll see in the event that they proceed to place it to make use of for an additional title in 2025.
