Logano, Elliott have age, experience on their side heading into Cup title race at Phoenix
PHOENIX – A reporter talking this week with veteran NASCAR driver Joey Logano referred to the abundance of youth among the four drivers who will race for the Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Then the reporter caught himself and added, “You included.”
“Thank you!” Logano said with a chuckle.
At age 32, Logano’s certainly not an old guy, but he’s the most experienced of the championship-eligible quartet. In 15 seasons, he has reached the playoffs nine times, advanced five times to the Championship 4 round and won the whole thing in 2018.
From a been-there-done-that perspective, he really is the wise old guy.
Logano’s not so old compared with the other three – Ross Chastain is 29, Christopher Bell 27 and Chase Elliott 26.
“I’m not THAT much older,” Logano said. But…
“I’m married with three kids and I’ve been doing this for 15 years,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing for me. You get better at juggling a lot of things. You know how most college kids think they’re tired all the time? Then you get to real life and realize what tired really is?”
Logano is neither tired nor short on confidence going into Sunday’s race. Many see him, driving for Team Penske, and 2020 champion Elliott, with Hendrick Motorsports, as the favorites based on experience and their teams.
Logano’s confidence is fueled by his victory three weeks ago at Las Vegas. It not only qualified him for the championship round, it also gave him and Team Penske three weeks to prepare for Sunday’s race.
“Racing for a championship, it’s bigger than any other race,” Logano said. “You have to learn to handle that pressure. The only way you know how to do that is going through it multiple times.
"I feel like that gives not just myself but my whole race team a clear advantage going into this race. I feel great about where we’re at. I feel great that we’ve been here so many times and we can focus on doing our jobs.”
After winning the Las Vegas race, much of Team Penske’s attention shifted to the Phoenix race even with races at Homestead and Martinsville looming before the championship race.
“We had a conversation about (Homestead) – ‘Yeah, sure, sounds good, let’s do it. What about Phoenix?’ That’s how our conversations were, as they should be,” Logano said. “The only one that matters is Sunday.
"Everyone says (the championship race) is just another race. That’s a bunch of BS. It’s not just another race. It’s bigger than any race you’ve ever been in and it changes the way you approach it, for sure.
“The three weeks we’ve had since Vegas, to really focus on here, it’s going to give us a huge advantage to not only have a good practice plan and set our car up, but also execute this race correctly on top of the experience that we've got. I’ve never felt more solid in this position than I do right now.”
Chase Elliott sits in his car in the garage during Friday's practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Elliott may not have the years behind him that Logano does, and he didn’t officially qualify for the Championship 4 until last Sunday’s 10th-place finish at Martinsville. But this is his seventh straight year in the playoffs, reaching the championship round four three times and winning it all once.
He knows a strong weekend of practice and qualifying can put him in a strong position for his second championship.
“When I sit back and I look at this weekend, the way this format is, the way the final four works, if you’re in, you have a shot,” Elliott said. “We haven’t written the ending yet, right? The narrative is there for you to make it whatever you want.”
Elliott points out he wasn’t steeped in experience when he won the title in his first trip to the Championship 4.
“Going out there and executing a great race and winning the thing, it’s like does it really matter? No, probably not,” Elliott said. “I think just putting together a good week and a good race on Sunday is going to lend itself to be more fruitful than just leaning on the fact that you’ve made the final four before.”