ALL TITLE STORIES: Johnson | Edwards | Busch
Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of four stories examining why each driver could win the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Coming Wednesday: Why Carl Edwards will win the 2016 championship
Joey Logano will win the title because …
He has proven to be the best driver in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format that debuted in 2014 and has a knack for performing when it's all on the line -- plus he's got all the momentum in the world after a thrilling victory at Phoenix to clinch his berth.
Over the past three seasons, Logano's seven wins in 29 Chase races tops all drivers.
"I know we can do it," Logano said after his victory in the desert. "I don't feel like it's a long shot like it was last time. It was my first time there, (and I was thinking) 'I'm racing for a championship, oh, my God, what's going to happen?' This time I feel like we've been here before."
A quick glance at Logano's Homestead numbers (17.7 average finish) will lead you to believe he might not be the favorite, but a closer look shows that he has a 9.3 average finish since he joined Team Penske in 2013.
That figure is just slightly off Jimmie Johnson's average finish of 9.0 for best among the remaining Chase drivers during that same period.
And if seven wins in 29 Chase races becomes 8-for-30?
That'd result in title No. 1.