For a driver considered somewhat of an ‘underdog’, Joey Logano makes it to Championship 4 more often than he should. The Team Penske driver was eliminated from the playoffs after the race at Charlotte Roval, but Alex Bowman’s disqualification gave him another shot at the title. In what seems like a dramatic turnaround in his season, the 34-year-old grabbed the opportunity with both hands by securing a win at the 2024 South Point 400 and now has a 25% chance of lifting the silverware at Phoenix Raceway later this year.

Denny Hamlin was one of the skeptics of Logano’s chances going into the opening Round of Eight playoff race. In a candid conversation on the Actions Detrimental podcast, the veteran driver revealed the reasons behind his doubtfulness ahead of the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Joey Logano surprised Hamlin with Las Vegas win

Joey Logano has experienced a wide range of emotions in the past week. From being heartbroken after seeing his title hopes dashed at the ‘Roval’ to securing his third victory of the season in Las Vegas, the Team Penske driver has been through it all. The Connecticut native was rock-bottom in the playoff standings going into the Round of Eight but is now the only driver who is locked into the Championship 4. His No. 22 Ford Mustang may not have had the fastest speed on the 1.5-mile track, but that didn’t matter in the end, as Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe’s fuel-saving strategy paid off to keep Christopher Bell at bay in Stage 3.

While Joey Logano may have been confident about his chances of winning in Las Vegas, his playoff rival didn’t share the same level of optimism. Sharing his views on the Actions Detrimental by Denny Hamlin podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said, “The way the race was playing out, you know, he was going to have an okay day. I thought he was kind of falling back there a little bit towards the back half of the top 10, maybe even outside of it slightly.” The Florida native then  went on to say, “I don’t know what the odds to win were but I would say he probably had the longest odds.”

Ever since the elimination format was introduced in 2014, no driver has made as many Championship 4 appearances as Joey Logano (6). The Team Penske driver claimed pole position at the 2024 Pennzoil 400 held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and has secured victories on the 1.5-mile track in the past, most notably during his title-winning 2022 season. In a sport where fine margins can make all the difference, just 0.662 seconds separated Logano from Christopher Bell when the checkered flag was waved, but that won’t make any difference to the No. 22 team.

A key factor that played in Logano’s favor was that he drove fearlessly in Vegas. As far as he was concerned, having a second shot at the championship wasn’t an opportunity he was willing to let go without giving it his all, despite being ruled out by Denny Hamlin and other title contenders. Ahead of the South Point 400, the two-time Cup Series winner said, “In a way, I feel like we have nothing to lose. As the underdog, that’s a lot of times you’re feeling, right?” The 34-year-old now has two weeks to prepare before for the title race at Phoenix Raceway. Given the stakes, Logano’s experience, and his preparation time, it’s fair to say that he won’t be underestimated by his rivals in the final race of the season.

Denny Hamlin opens up about his struggles in Vegas

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Going into the Round of Eight, the expectation was that fans would finally get to see the ‘real’ Denny Hamlin at the business end of the season. With the opening playoff races featuring road courses and superspeedways, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was competing outside his comfort zone but managed to salvage the results to remain in contention for the title. However, intermediate tracks are where he truly shines, but even though the stakes were higher than ever, the 43-year-old couldn’t secure a top-five result.

Reflecting on his performance after South Point 400, Denny Hamlin said, “Just not a clean day. That certainly kind of sums it up. You’ll have that. We’ll just do the best we can to get the best finish. I thought (crew chief) Chris (Gabehart) did a great job trying to get some sort of finish. Once we lost the track position early, he was doing everything he could to try to get it back through some alternate strategy. It goes long there, we fall back to the back. Just part of it.”

It’s now or never for Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver lacked speed at the beginning of the race to keep up with the leaders and multiple poor pitstops didn’t help matters. The No. 11 Toyota driver is struggling with consistency in the playoffs and currently sits 27 points below the elimination cutline going into Homestead-Miami. If he has any hopes of making it to Phoenix Raceway, the veteran racing driver will need to focus on getting a victory in the upcoming races.

Could this finally be the year Denny Hamlin wins his first championship? Let us know in the comments!