Joey Logano and Chase Elliott are standing in each other’s way for a second NASCAR Cup Series championship title. Both drivers could be considered on equal footing heading into Sunday’s race.
However, if you consider what happened a couple of years ago, perhaps Elliott might have the upper hand.
Good luck to @Team_Penske & driver @joeylogano this weekend at @phoenixraceway as the No. 22 team goes for their 2nd #NASCAR Championship! 🏁 #PartnersPoweringProgress #The22in22#Championship4 pic.twitter.com/lKfwjGBwZx
— Shell Racing US (@shellracingus) November 3, 2022
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This is so because the #9 driver trumped the #22 in Phoenix in 2020 to win his first Cup title, making that campaign for Logano, the one that hurts him the most, as he recently admitted to Corey LaJoie.
“2020,” Logano said about the final four appearance that aches him the most. “2020, we’re out there, running down Chase (Elliott), coming to a green flag cycle in the final stage, ran right down to him, pitted, executed the pit stop, came out in front of them by like a second, second and a half maybe.”
The 2018 Cup champion described how they were in a position to win with some 30 laps to go. “We did our job, we executed the race, everything perfectly, what happens? I can’t see where I’m going, car’s shaking,” he continued.
“Oh no, loose wheel?”, LaJoie guessed.
“No, still don’t know what it was,” Logano replied. “Still don’t know what it was!”
So heading into Phoenix this weekend for Logano, is more or less a payback.
“This is revenge. To me, I look at this week is this, it’s revenge for 2020 because I feel like we should have won that,” he said, to which LaJoie added, “Revenge tour.”
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Joey Logano confident of beating Chase Elliott and the other two on Sunday
Speaking ahead of the penultimate race of the season, Joey Logano expressed just how confident he feels of winning the ultimate prize, beating Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, as well as Christopher Bell.
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“I feel like we‘re in a great spot right now,” Logano said. “I feel like our team is in a great spot for a lot of reasons. For one, we‘re not happy to be here. We‘re not just happy to be in the Championship 4. This isn‘t enough for us.
Logano emphasized that he’s “never felt more solid” than he does right now. “With that said, I‘m ready to go racing and get out there, because we feel prepared,” he continued.
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“We‘re ready to go to battle.”