When Joey Logano was 20th in the point standings, it was allegedly vindication for the fans who spent years calling him a "playoff merchant" and basked in the fact that the new consistency and points-based playoff format meant that the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford would never again be a NASCAR Cup Series championship contender.
No more five-overtime win over the driver last in points getting him into the playoffs. No more lucky rival disqualifications reinstating him, post-elimination, for a Mickey Mouse championship run. No more championships from 15th in the regular season point standings. No more even-year magic.
So how are we feeling right about now?
Logano continued his summer tear with a victory at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night and now has as many wins during this year's regular season as he did during any of those in his first three title-winning years. It's almost like he and the No. 22 team have indeed begun to adapt to the new format.
And, like they always have, they know how to turn it on when it counts. That has never not been true, and it didn't suddenly become true simply because of a few terrible races in March.
All of a sudden, Logano is up to ninth place in the point standings, and he has as legitimate path to fifth before the regular season concludes in under two weeks. He is no longer at risk of missing the playoffs, although that was a cute storyline for a while, and he is working himself up the provisional leaderboard for the playoff reset, a reset based exclusively on regular season points.
Win and in or no win and in, Logano is a contender. It's time to face facts.
First and foremost, the fact that he is a 39-time race winner sort of shreds the narrative that he's only good because of the playoffs. It's one thing if he had a handful of wins with a couple of titles to go along, but he's clearly one of this generation's top drivers, regardless of the format.
Over the past decade, he has been the closest thing to Jimmie Johnson we've seen as far as getting it done when it matters most, even if that means looking pedestrian when it doesn't.
Secondly, it's entirely possible that he ends up winning this year's championship because of the new format, rather than in spite of it. Ninth place is worth 35 bonus points to begin the postseason. That would put him 65 points out of the lead. Seeing as how he's 310 points out of the top spot as it stands, that's effectively a 245-point boost for a driver already carrying tons of momentum.
And as we've seen on multiple occasions this year, specifically with the added 15-point bonus for winning, you can absolutely make up 65 points over 10 races. Quite frankly, you can make it up over two or three.
Seriously though, how great would it be if the same fans who supposedly adored this new format end up spending the entire day on Monday, November 9, as Logano raises his fourth championship trophy, complaining on social media that it needs to be abolished after only one year?
"It's even worse than the old format!"
Before anybody actually takes those complaints seriously though, and calls for the postseason to be abolished entirely, do take a moment to recall how we heard not a single peep when Ryan Blaney won his 2023 championship after finishing 13th in the regular season standings. It's almost like the format itself isn't the problem.
The only "problem" is Logano. And the rest of the Cup field has officially let him and the No. 22 team get hot. The question is whether they'll actually have an answer for the driver who has placed no lower than fourth in points in an even-numbered year since joining Team Penske 13 years ago.
The penultimate race of the regular season is the Dollar Tree 301, which is set to be shown live on USA Network from New Hampshire Motor Speedway starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 23.
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