Joey Logano's Las Vegas win ensures 'even year' pattern continues for 2x NASCAR champ

Joey Logano's victory on Sunday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway continued a unique statistical trend in the two-time champion's career. The driver of the #22 Team Penske Ford has made it to the Championship 4 in every even-numbered year since the debut of the 16-driver playoff format in 2014.

The Connecticut native led the final six laps of Sunday's race to win at Las Vegas and clinch a spot in the upcoming Championship 4 race at Phoenix. The 34-year-old previously competed in the championship race in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, and won the title race in 2018 and 2022.

Now, the 35-time Cup Series winner has qualified for the Championship 4 again, meaning the even-numbered year trend continues. Logano has also won the opening race of the Round of 8 in the previous four even-numbered seasons, a stat brought to light by Davey Segal on X.

Logano passed Suarez for the lead with six laps to go in Sunday's 267-lap event. Christopher Bell, who led a race-high 155 laps, tried to run down Logano in the final laps, but it was too late as Logano captured the checkered flag for the third time in 2024.

In his post-race interview with NASCAR on NBC, Logano made mention of the unusual trend that's unfolded throughout his career, saying:

"I don't know what the deal is with the even year thing, but maybe it's real."

Originally, Logano didn't qualify for the Round of 8 after being eliminated in last week's Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Roval. However, Alex Bowman was disqualified after his #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was found to be underweight and was given an automatic last-place finish, which bumped Logano above the cut-line and into the Round of 8.

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Joey Logano will look to win Team Penske's third championship in three weeks at Phoenix

Joey Logano aims to claim his third career Cup Series championship and notch the third straight championship for Team Penske. Logano won the title in 2022 while teammate Ryan Blaney earned the crown in 2023.

If he's able to outrun the other Championship 4 drivers at Phoenix, Logano will join elite company as just the 10th driver in history to have won at least three Cup championships. He'll join Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, and Tony Stewart as three-time champions.

Logano is one of only two active drivers with multiple Cup championships, along with Kyle Busch. His first championship came in 2018 when he bested Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch in the title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the victory.

In 2022, Logano outlasted Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Chase Elliott in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix to claim his second Cup championship. This year, Logano has amassed three victories, which came at Nashville, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, respectively.