When the removal of the "win and in", knockout-style playoff format was confirmed by NASCAR ahead of the 2026 season, ending a much-maligned 12-year run, and NASCAR went back to an iteration of the "Chase" postseason format which was used from 2004 to 2013, one of the drivers many fans believed would be hurt by the move was Joey Logano.
Logano is a three-time Cup Series champion, but he has never led the series in total points, and with the new format rewarding total points more than simply winning at the right time and in the right "round" of the playoffs, he wasn't supposed to be a serious factor.
And as the 2026 season unfolded, it looks like he might not be. In fact, it looked like he might not even be able to get into the playoffs. There were weeks when we needed to check to make sure if it was the No. 22 Team Penske Ford or the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet on the race track.
Logano's 2024 championship is perhaps the most criticized championship of the old format. He only got into the playoffs due to a five-overtime fuel mileage win over the driver who was, at the time, last in the point standings, and he was initially eliminated after the round of 12, before another driver was disqualified, bumping him into the top eight and into the round of 8.
Even with a three-win postseason, with a win in the round of 8 to get him into the Championship 4 and then ultimately a Championship 4 win to clinch the championship, he didn't finish the season in the top 10 in total points.
Similarly, Logano's 2018 championship came after he won just one regular season race. But he won a round of 8 race to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, and then he beat the other three Championship 4 drivers, who had combined for 20 wins, to win the title.
So the "playoff merchant" criticism wasn't entirely unfair, even if everyone was playing by the same rules.
Joey Logano gets a notable boost heading into the NASCAR playoffs
But summer victories at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway this year vaulted Logano from outside of the playoff picture entirely all the way up to ninth place in the point standings, and he is set to start the 10-race postseason as the No. 9 seed.
The points bonuses after the post-regular season reset were predetermined when NASCAR announced the new format, so Logano is set to start the playoffs with 2,035 points.
With regular season champion Denny Hamlin set to start with 2,100, Logano is only 65 points out of the championship lead. He finished the regular season 318 points behind Hamlin, so he has effectively been given a 253-point championship boost by this new format.
We've all seen how little time it takes for a driver to make up 65 points on a rival, especially since NASCAR boosted the value of wins from 40 to 55 this year, to make up for the removal of "win and in". Granted, Logano would have seven other drivers to pass as well, and seven others to remain ahead of, but over 10 weeks, absolutely no lead is insurmountable.
So it's entirely possible that he could end up winning a fourth championship because of, not in spite of, this new format.
Wouldn't that be something?
Of course, if that were to happen, all of the praise the new format has generated would be thrown out the window, Logano would be considered a "playoff merchant" once again, and fans would call for this format to be removed after just one season. We all know how that goes.
And Logano certainly isn't the only driver to get a nice boost to start the postseason. In fact, the 15 playoff drivers not named Hamlin are all closer to Hamlin in the standings now than they were to end the regular season, so you could argue that the regular season champion is actually the biggest loser of the reset.
RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, the 16th and final driver to secure a playoff spot with his Coke Zero Sugar 400 victory at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, got a 305-point boost. With 2,000 points (making him the only driver with no bonus points), he is set to start the playoffs 100 points behind Hamlin, after finishing the regular season 405 points behind.
Only one driver was fewer than 133 points behind Hamlin when the regular season concluded, and that was Ryan Blaney, who was 89 behind. Now Hamlin's competitors are all within 100.
And when it comes to Logano, if history has taught us anything, objects in mirror are indeed closer than they appear, especially when those objects have proven time and time again that they know how to be at their best when it matters most.
Darlington Raceway is scheduled to host the Cook Out Southern 500 this Sunday, September 6, with live coverage of the playoff opener set to be provided by USA Network beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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