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Joey Logano 2018 season recap
By Zack Albert | Published: December 28, 2018 22
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Joey Logano's season was one to remember, a campaign that resulted in his first championship in NASCAR's top division. The 28-year-old driver successfully bounced back from a tough 2017, when he missed the postseason field. Here's a look back at his 2018 run, with 22 photos to toast the driver of the No. 22 Ford.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Joey Logano and his wife, Brittany, savored a special moment before the season began, welcoming their first child, Hudson, to their family. Their son made several appearances at the race track later in the year, including joining his father on the grid at Darlington Raceway.
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Robert Laberge | Getty Images
Logano managed to sidestep most of the chaos in the season-opening Daytona 500. He avoided the worst of this multi-car tangle near the end of the race to salvage a fourth-place finish.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Joey Logano found himself in Victory Lane for the first time in 2018 on the Xfinity Series side. He dominated at Auto Club Speedway, leading 139 of 150 laps.
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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
Logano notched his second top-five finish of the season on the Monster Energy Series side at Auto Club Speedway. The result was part of an early season show of consistency, with 12 top 10s in the first 15 races -- a stretch that kept him second or third in the series standings for much of the early going.
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Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
Logano was on the verge of his first Monster Energy Series win of the season in April at Richmond Raceway. He won both stages, led 92 of the 402 laps, but dropped to a fourth-place result.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
The following week, Logano was back in the win column at Talladega Superspeedway, snapping a yearlong drought. He led a race-high 70 laps and fended off runner-up Kurt Busch at the checkered flag.
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Daniel Shirey | Getty Images
With his 36-race skid over, Logano and his Team Penske No. 22 crew let loose in Victory Lane at the 2.66-mile Alabama track.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Logano's run of relative consistency ended in July at Daytona with a pileup in Stage 2 of the Coke Zero 400. The wreck sidelined all three Team Penske entries and handed Logano the first of three DNFs for the season.
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Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
Logano celebrated his second Xfinity Series win of the season with his family in Watkins Glen International's Victory Lane. The triumph gave Logano a milestone 30th Xfinity win.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
All three Team Penske drivers qualified for the Monster Energy Series' postseason field of 16. From left: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney pose with the championship trophy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the regular-season finale.
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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
Logano's signature victory celebration with his steering wheel became his Twitter emoji on the side of the No. 22 for the NASCAR Playoffs.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Logano advanced through the first two rounds of the playoffs with top-10 finishes in five of the opening six races. Along the way, he secured his only Busch Pole Award of the season, leading qualifying at Kansas Speedway.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Logano vaulted into the Championship 4 field for the third time in five years with one of the season's most thrilling and controversial finishes in late October. Logano applied a bump-and-run move to Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap at Martinsville Speedway. With both drivers fighting for control, Logano took the checkers first, leaving Truex a bitter third behind a charging Denny Hamlin.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
The short-track fireworks lifted Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon to Martinsville's Victory Lane and a celebration with the track's famed grandfather clock trophy. It was Logano's first Martinsville triumph in 20 tries.
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Chris Trotman | Getty Images
The war of words between Logano and Truex cooled somewhat in the weeks after Martinsville, and both wound up in the Championship 4 field, joining title hopefuls Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Logano made waves by declaring himself the championship favorite before Homestead, a topic that was ripe for discussion at Championship 4 Media Day in Miami Beach.
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Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media
In the days before the Homestead-Miami finale, Logano and his wife, Brittany, were rewarded for their foundation's charitable efforts with the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Logano took control from Truex to lead the final 12 laps of the Ford EcoBoost 400 and wrap up his first title in his 10th season as a Monster Energy Series competitor. Logano became the first Ford driver since 2004 to win the crown, helping the carmaker claim its first manufacturer title since 2002.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
After a smoky burnout, Logano emerged to celebrate with his Team Penske No. 22 crew.
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Chris Trotman | Getty Images
The Loganos took their place on the main stage for a special family moment next to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy.
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David Becker | Getty Images
Joey Logano took the podium at the annual NASCAR Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas at the end of November. He became emotional as he thanked his family for their unending support through the year.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Joey Logano proudly shows off the championship ring. The premier-series title was the second for team owner Roger Penske, who also won the championship with Brad Keselowski in 2012.