While there is still a contingent of NASCAR fans totally content with clinging to the inaccurate portrayal of Joey Logano as merely a "playoff merchant", his victory in Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was the 40th of his Cup Series career.
The three-time champion established himself firmly in championship contention with the surprise victory, which was his third of the year (specifically, third since mid-July alone).
After he was 20th in points in June, he now is just 16 points behind Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson for the championship lead in third.
For what it's worth, from 2018 to 2025, every time Logano won more than one race after the season's halfway mark, he went on to win the championship, so it's no surprise that he's now one of the favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Even with the change to the format and the removal of "win and in", he continues to prove that he and his No. 22 team know how to win when it counts.
Logano, whose 15-year win streak is just four seasons shy of the late Kyle Busch's all-time record, tied Mark Martin on the all-time wins list on Saturday, and he now trails just 19 other drivers throughout the entire 78-year history of the Cup Series.
Among active full-time drivers, he trails only Denny Hamlin, whose four-win season thus far has taken him to ninth on the all-time list with 64.
Rank | Driver | Wins |
|---|---|---|
1 | Richard Petty | 200 |
2 | David Pearson | 105 |
3 | Jeff Gordon | 93 |
4 | Bobby Allison | 85 |
5 | Darrell Waltrip | 84 |
6 | Jimmie Johnson | 83 |
7 | Cale Yarborough | 83 |
8 | Dale Earnhardt | 76 |
9 | Denny Hamlin | 64 |
10 | Kyle Busch | 63 |
11 | Kevin Harvick | 60 |
12 | Rusty Wallace | 55 |
13 | Lee Petty | 54 |
14 | Ned Jarrett | 50 |
15 | Junior Johnson | 50 |
16 | Tony Stewart | 49 |
17 | Herb Thomas | 48 |
18 | Buck Baker | 46 |
19 | Bill Elliott | 44 |
Logano just turned 36 years old in May, and there's no reason to believe that his current contract with Team Penske, which is already said to run through at least 2027, won't be extended; he has been with the team for 14 years.
It's hard to imagine that he won't continue to climb this list, although moving up any further before the 2026 season ends probably isn't going to happen, with just seven races remain on the schedule.
Kansas Speedway, where Logano is a three-time winner, is set to host the Hollywood Casino 400 this Sunday, September 27, with live coverage from USA Network set to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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