There is a ray of light in the storm of controversy. The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has seen several upheavals. Ranging from Stewart-Haas Racing’s demise to Michael Jordan going against NASCAR in a lawsuit, drama has never left the chat. But things did not get as dramatic as Joey Logano’s phenomenal rise to glory in Phoenix. With the fewest top-tens and top-fives and an array of lucky draws, an army of fans rallied against his third championship, calling it ‘undeserving.’

However, some people believe in Logano’s excellence. NASCAR veteran racer and broadcaster Kyle Petty is among them. Despite the glaring evidence pointing to Kyle Larson as the deserving champion – he clinched 6 wins and led 1700 laps – Petty still thinks Logano is in the right place. After all, surviving a tumultuous season of 36 races is no mean feat.

Joey Logano has a supporter

Well, the focal point of criticism revolves around NASCAR’s playoff format. Under the 2014 elimination format, it did not matter how consistently a driver performed during the regular season. Your Cup title bid narrowed down to the final 10 cutthroat races – where it was all or nothing. Kyle Larson stuck it out through the first two rounds but faltered in the Round of 8 and that ejected him from the playoffs. However, Joey Logano knew the pulse of the playoffs. Despite entering it with a measly 15th position in points, he took advantage at the right moments. That includes winning in Atlanta, responding to his Charlotte reinstatement with a Las Vegas win, and ultimately beating his teammate in Phoenix by 0.33 seconds.

To Kyle Petty, that excellence is all that matters to see Joey Logano as worthy. In a post-race breakdown of Phoenix, the 2-time Cup race winner tipped his hat to Logano’s fiery drive. “Ryan Blaney put everything he had into it – two weeks in a row, man…But Joey Logano was not to be denied…seized control of that race…You put Joey Logano in the first two or three rows of a restart, he’s going to bring home a trophy. You give Joey Logano the lead in the first 25-30 laps of a championship race, he’s not going to be denied.” 

Petty further snuffed out the tremendous backlash against Joey Logano‘s victory. For his argument, he cited the NCAA, which hosts a 12-team playoff bracket. “His third championship, people…Now this is something I don’t understand…As I see on Twitter…why (are) so many people complaining and saying he doesn’t deserve it? Listen, we celebrate a 16th seed in the NCAA tournament. It’s the Cinderella story, the greatest story in the world…They make it to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament.” Then Petty firmly laid down his verdict: “You win a championship at the Cup level, you survived 36 races during the season – you deserve that championship.” 

Furthermore, Joey Logano’s massive achievement places him among the elite of the sport.

Logano has reached for the stars

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Roger Penske, an 86-year-old motorsport veteran has always looked for that ‘unfair advantage’ to get ahead of his competitors. That mindset, coupled with top-notch efforts by the No. 22 team, helped Joey Logano to strike when the iron was hot. Yet even amidst weeding out Team Penske‘s intricate strategies, we are missing a crucial point. Logano has officially reached the cream of NASCAR’s legendary drivers. With this championship, he broke a tie with 2-time champion Kyle Busch for having the most titles among active drivers.

Additionally, the 34-year-old is now in an illustrious group of five drivers who won at least three titles under 35. They include Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, David Pearson, and Richard Petty. Neither Kyle Busch nor Kyle Larson have that privilege. So Kyle Petty showered his respect for Logano further as he cited a few more stats. “Only 10 guys have ever won three or more championships. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart, and now – Joey Logano…has separated himself from the pack. He is an incredible driver, give him credit.” 

Evidently, Team Logano is not entirely dark and deserted. One thing is sure – this championship will be remembered for a long time, no matter for good or bad reasons.