"You can knock a lot of that out now": Joey Logano opens up on the benefits of booking his Phoenix spot early

Joey Logano recently discussed the advantage he gained after his win at Las Vegas. A common factor in both Cup titles Joey Logano has won so far is an early win in the first race of the Round of 8; a win at Kansas before his first NASCAR Cup championship in 2018, and a win at Las Vegas preceded his second title in 2022.

Interestingly, Logano won the opening race of the Round of 8 again this year at Las Vegas and booked his spot for the Championship race in Phoenix.

Eyeing his third Cup championship with the signs pointing in the right direction, Joey Logano was asked if he took anything away from his 2018 and 2022 playoff campaigns. The #22 driver said that winning that early gave him some breathing room compared to the rest of the grid. He said (via Speedway Digest):

"If you lock yourself into Martinsville, you got a couple days before that car’s gotta be on the road headed out west. So you don’t have much time to really change much of the setup or whatever things you’re wanting to do, right? You can practice, obviously, but you are just massaging the little things, you don’t have a whole lot of time there...You know, now you can book a suite, you can get the travel stuff for everybody. All those distractions that you’ll have on championship weekend, you can knock a lot of that out now, which to me, is something," Logano described as per Speedway Digest.

He claimed that all such things add up because a driver has media duties on Tuesday and Thursday, which leaves them with only one day at the shop and a day and a half before the car is loaded up in the hauler headed for Phoenix.

"This advantage does help a little bit with those type of things too," Logano added.

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Joey Logano comments on his chances for claiming a third championship: "I always feel like we can win the race no matter what"

When asked about the possibility of claiming a third championship, Joey Logano revealed that he didn't see why he couldn't be considered a 'favorite' to add to his Cup titles and said (via the aforementioned source):

"I always feel like we can win the race no matter what. And we figured it out a way last week, even when we weren’t the fastest car. We were the best team that figured out how to win that race. That’s where I feel like we have such an advantage over the other teams, is that we’re very well-rounded," Logano claimed.

Logano said that the #22 team is 'well-rounded' which helps them capitalize on opportunities in unexpected situations. He further remarked that with his Championship 4 spot booked, he now has more time to focus on Phoenix which places him in an advantageous position compared to his rivals.