5 Points to Ponder: Joey Logano Has Reached Elite Status

1. This NASCAR Cup Series Season Was One of the Best of All-Time — But Also One of the Worst

Boy, 2024 had it all, didn’t it?

We started with a three-wide photo finish in the second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Daniel Suarez eked out his second career victory to make the playoffs. That was outdone a couple of months later at Kansas Speedway, when Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher gave NASCAR its closest finish in Cup Series history, with Larson getting the nod over Buescher.

Speaking of Larson, he also attempted the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double, which brought more eyes to the sport. The spring Bristol Motor Speedway race was probably one of the most entertaining races in recent memory. Option tires were introduced. Hendrick Motorsports scored a 1-2-3 in its 40th-anniversary race at Martinsville Speedway.

We had surprise winners such as Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse gave us a great post-race fight with Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Michael McDowell won a whopping six poles. Brad Keselowski finally got to victory lane as a team owner. Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott finally returned to victory lane for the first time since 2022. The Brickyard 400 returned. Wood Brothers Racing finally scored win No. 100 after seven years of trying and so many more things that I probably missed.

But with that came some of the worst moments in recent NASCAR history. A Daytona 500 with a questionable final caution and subsequent winner. A jumped restart by Denny Hamlin at Richmond Raceway arguably set the tone for officiating the rest of the season. A Nashville Superspeedway farce that resulted in Joey Logano winning the race in five overtimes, in which he was 14th with two laps to go in regulation.

The Coca-Cola 600 was delayed for two hours due to rain and then called when the track was nearly dry. A plethora of flips called the safety of the Next Gen back into question. Speaking of Next Gen safety, Erik Jones’ Talladega Superspeedway crash sidelined him for two weeks and allowed Corey Heim to make his first two career Cup starts.

Way too many media appearances from Elton Sawyer to explain the reasoning for certain calls made, such as rain tires used in oddly-specific situations or the multi-team race manipulation from Martinsville. The Brickyard 400 ended under caution after NASCAR neglected a wrecked Ryan Preece for half a lap. A Bowman penalty in the playoffs ultimately launched the championship campaign for Logano, a driver who had an average finish of 17.1, yet hoisted the Bill France Cup when all was said and done.

And of course, a charter agreement and subsequent lawsuit that dominated the course of the season.

And that’s not to mention all that happened in the NASCAR Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series this season as well.

Yeah, the 2024 season gave us a lot of reasons to smile. It also gave us a lot of reasons to be angry. Let’s hope for the sake of the sanity of the fans, drivers, teams and media that we never see a season so bipolar again.

2. Ford Rises to the Occasion Again as Toyota Continues to Falter

Every year, Toyota comes out swinging, leading to predictions that it will be a Toyota that will win the title. This year, such candidates included Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell.

Meanwhile, Ford was nowhere to be found. This year, in particular, was an abysmal start to the season for the Blue Ovals. Chevrolet and Toyota were leaps and bounds better for the first one-third of the season.

Then Keselowski broke through to give Ford its first win at Darlington Raceway in May. Then Logano won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Then Ryan Blaney scored a few wins. Cindric, Briscoe, Burton, Buescher — all Blue Ovals who scored victories.

And just as Ford was coming alive, Toyota ran into its own issues. The summer was plagued with engine issues for the team, with seemingly every Toyota driver finding an engine issue at one point or another. Gibbs, in particular, was probably hit the hardest, as the sophomore couldn’t buy a decent finish if he wanted to.

In the first 18 races of the year (plus the Busch Light Clash, All-Star Open, All-Star Race and the Daytona 500 duels), Toyota won 12 times, while Ford won just four times. In the final 18 races of the season, Ford won nine times.

Toyota? Twice. Both of them came with Reddick and they came 10 races apart.

Ford scored a 1-2 finish in the championship standings with Logano and Blaney, while Toyota and Reddick barely showed up to the title fight. Toyota will now have to go back to the drawing board yet again to figure out what happened and how it can finally get back to the top for the first time since 2019.

3. Justin Allgaier Proves Nice Guys Can Finish First

There was probably no bigger win over the course of the weekend (hell, even over the last few weeks) than Justin Allgaier finally becoming an Xfinity Series champion after eons of trying.

The veteran racecar driver has always been one of the most likable drivers in the garage area and has never been one to ruffle the feathers of his competitors. He’s a fiery driver, sure, and he has definitely had his share of bad luck — which is why the win is so popular.

Similarly to Hamlin in Cup, there were people beginning to question if Allgaier would ever walk away with an Xfinity title. He has more than paid his dues and he might be the most deserving driver of those who hadn’t won one yet.

It was better late than never, and even though he lost the race in the final corner, the long wait and yearning for a title finally ended. Allgaier can finally call himself a champion. And he’ll be a great champion for the Xfinity Series, as he is the true embodiment of what a champion should be as a representative of the sport.

Sometimes, nice guys do indeed finish first and Allgaier proved that. I’d be willing to bet there isn’t a single driver in the garage who wasn’t happy to see car No. 7 hoist the big trophy in the end.

4. Like It or Not, Joey Logano Is Now an Elite Driver

Say what you want about the playoffs, but you have to understand that the driver who walks away with the Cup at the end is the champion, whether you like it or not.

Logano was by no means the best driver all year, and you don’t have to accept that he is the champion — but to call him an illegitimate champion is, well, as he said, “Bullsh*t.”

Not only have Logano and the No. 22 been able to race the system exactly as intended, but they’ve won three titles under this format.

Three.

Like it or not, winning three titles — regardless of format — is a mark of an elite driver. Every driver who has won three championships or more is a Hall of Famer. We haven’t seen a driver win three titles since Tony Stewart won his third in 2011.

You may not like the format (admittedly, this author isn’t a fan either), but you have to give credit where credit is due. Logano and Team Penske have found something that has worked in the playoffs, and he’s now won three titles in just seven seasons. That officially makes him elite in my book (as if he wasn’t before).

The wildest part? Logano is only 34. He could realistically win one or two more before retiring. Especially if the even-year trend continues.

5. Riley Herbst Scored a Walk-Off Win for Stewart-Haas Racing … and Possibly Himself

Remember when I mentioned that Allgaier lost the season finale in the final corner? I should probably mention that Riley Herbst walked away as the winner of that race and under impressive circumstances as well.

Herbst dominated the day and was beaten on the final restart by Allgaier. Over the next lap and a half, the No. 98 ran down Allgaier, catching him on the backstretch of the final lap before driving right by him in turn 3 to earn his second victory of the season.

It’s the second big win of the year for the Las Vegas native after winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a similarly thrilling fashion. Herbst expressed that he would not have had any problem moving Allgaier if it meant he could go to victory lane.

Herbst’s third career win is special, as it now serves as the final-ever win for Stewart-Haas Racing, which shut its doors upon the checkered flag of the Cup race after 15 years in operation. It was a true walk-off win for the team’s Xfinity program that should not go unnoticed.

What also shouldn’t go unnoticed is that Herbst still doesn’t know what his racing plans are for 2025. He’s long been rumored to be a candidate for a third full-time 23XI Racing ride, but the ongoing lawsuit between 23XI (plus Front Row Motorsports) and NASCAR could throw a wrench in those plans if 23XI is forced to run as a two-car open team next season.

Herbst has the backing to go wherever he wants — but where? Haas Factory Team is full, so he couldn’t even stay with his team if he wanted to. Most of the Cup rides have been filled for next season, and aside from demoting himself to a Truck Series ride. But would the 25-year-old be willing to do that?

I’m not going to sit here and say we watched Herbst compete in the final race of his NASCAR career. I firmly believe he will be in a seat next season.

But if, by some fluke happenstance, Phoenix happened to be his last race … what a way to go out.