NASCAR Update: Oct. 18

As the Round of 8 approaches, there is a chance for one of the NASCAR Playoffs’ strangest anomalies to continue.

Joey Logano has appeared in the Championship 4 in every even-numbered year since the advent of the Playoffs in 2024. He has also missed the Championship 4 in every odd-numbered year.

Since Logano has a chance to continue the streak, here’s a recap of how the Middletown, Conn. native has fared in NASCAR’s previous postseasons.

2014:

Logano had a consistent regular season. In his second season at Team Penske since moving on from Joe Gibbs Racing, he notched 10 top 5s and three wins before the playoffs began.

He capitalized on a drama-filled Texas fall race in the round of 8 that saw championship hopefuls Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth fail to finish to advance to the final race.

Sixteenth place was all Logano could muster at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was a solid effort in his first true shot at the Cup Series title.

2016:

2016 saw Logano only grab one victory before the playoffs, but this season exemplified his clutch factor in the postseason.

Logano won his way into the Championship 4, taking the win at the final track in the Round of 8 in Phoenix.

At the finale, he finished a distant second to Jimmie Johnson and was involved in a late-race restart where he made contact with fellow championship contender Carl Edwards.

Logano would miss the playoffs entirely in 2017 after his win at Richmond was nullified after failing post-race inspection.

2018:

The NASCAR Cup Series saw the emergence of the “Big 3” in 2018. Kevin Harvick, reigning champion Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch were the class of the field that season.

Harvick, Truex Jr. and Busch combined for 13 wins in the first 26. They were the obvious championship frontrunners.

However, Logano, who only had one win entering the playoffs, got to the Round of 8 and again won his way into the final round. He would win at Homestead to claim his first Cup Series title.

2020:

Logano took victory in two of the four races before the 2020 season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But his competitors caught up to him by season’s end.

Out of the Championship 4 that season, Logano finished the year with the fewest number of wins. While Logano won the spring race at Phoenix, the new site of the championship finale, he could only muster third behind fellow playoff drivers Brad Keselowski and eventual champion Chase Elliott.

2022:

2022 was NASCAR’s first season with the seventh generation of Cup cars. Logano kicked off the new era by winning the car’s debut race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the exhibition Clash race.

In a season where Ford had to make modifications to their car prior to the season to comply with regulations, Logano and teammate Ryan Blaney kept pace with regular-season champion Chase Elliott all season long.

Logano took the win in the final race at Phoenix and grabbed his second Cup Series championship.

2024:

This season has been very uncharacteristic of Joey Logano’s performance throughout the playoff era. His win in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro in May was Ford’s first win all season.

He locked himself into the playoffs at Nashville in a race that saw five overtimes. He was in 14th position when the first caution came out and moved his way to the front as drivers kept running out of fuel.

In the playoffs, he won the first round at Atlanta to move himself to the Round of 12. However, he would be eliminated on points after that.

However, Alex Bowman was disqualified in the final race of the round at the Charlotte Roval for an underweight car. Logano was back in after the points penalty.

Four races remain in the Cup Series season, and they are all at tracks that Logano has won at. This includes Las Vegas and Phoenix, the site of the championship finale, where Logano has won in the current generation of cars.

Even though Joey Logano has had a down year, currently sitting 15th in a season-long points system, he is in a position to keep his even-yeared Championship 4 streak alive. He currently sits 11 points below the cutline, but sometimes superstitions are relentless.

Jack Rachinsky is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jjr6682@psu.edu.