HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Joey Logano proved that NASCAR's playoff system is about performance late in the year, as he turned a one-win regular season into his first career NASCAR Cup Series title.

Logano, who was fifth in the regular-season standings, capped a strong playoff run with two wins in the last four races, including capturing the victory Sunday in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"I told you we weren't (an underdog) and showed you why we were not," said Logano, who had declared himself the favorite a week ago. "We were the favorite like I told you before the race started."

The Team Penske driver took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. with 12 laps remaining for his first win at a 1.5-mile track since an October 2015 victory at Kansas Speedway. He outlasted the three other championship contenders, who finished 2-3-4. Truex placed second, Kevin Harvick finished third and Kyle Busch was fourth.

"I am so proud of everybody for rising to the occasion. We executed down the stretch like nobody's business. ... I can't believe it," Logano said. "I don't know what to say. This team, (owner) Roger Penske, (crew chief) Todd Gordon, the pit crew. Oh my God.

"They gave me the car I needed at the end to do my job, put me in position to do my job. I couldn't be more proud of them."

The championship race changed complexion with 20 laps remaining when Daniel Suarez spun following contact with Brad Keselowski.

Busch, who had not been in contention all day because of issues on pit road, was the leader because he had opted not to pit under green when the leaders pitted. Busch's only chance to win the title was to stay out, get track position, and hope the caution would come out before he ran out of fuel.

That happened with the Keselowski-Suarez contact, and following pit stops, Busch retained the lead, with Truex second, Logano third and Harvick fourth.

The race resumed with 15 laps remaining. Truex took the lead on the restart, but Logano blew by him a few laps later.

Joey Logano lifted the NASCAR Cup Series trophy for the first time. Sean Gardner/Getty Images

"I just needed time," said Truex, the 2017 Cup champion. "That's all I needed. They were faster than us for 15 or 20 laps all day long.

"It was like a reverse scenario from last year. Last year we took advantage of the short run car at the end -- (Busch's) 18 car should've won the race (last year) and tonight we should've won the race and they took advantage of the short-run car. I don't know what else we could've done."

Harvick possibly could have battled for the win, too, if not for the late-race caution. But the driver who led 58 of the first 167 laps didn't have as strong a car following sundown.

Both Harvick and Busch finished the season with eight wins (five more than Logano) but ended up without the title.

"Lots of wins," Busch said. "Forget about it now. Move on. ... Our car was just not even close. I don't know what happened to it, I thought we were way better than that and way closer than that.

"We wouldn't have unloaded today if we thought we were that far off."

Harvick was without his crew chief, Rodney Childers, who was suspended for the final two races of the year for an illegal spoiler in the win at Texas.

"It's been a great year and we just got beat," Harvick said.

Joey Logano raced to the championship with a win at Homestead. Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Logano didn't have the great season of the other championship contenders, as he entered the finale with 12 top-5 finishes, the fewest among them. But he has been on the brink all year, proved by his 25 top-10 finishes in the 35 previous races.

Once the playoffs started, he showed his strength as he earned more points than any other driver in the playoffs. He had four top-5s and seven top-10s in the first nine playoff races, and his win at Martinsville to open the third round gave his team two extra weeks to prepare knowing it was in the championship event.

It was at that race at Martinsville where he executed a bump-and-run on Truex to capture the win. While viewed by Truex and others as potentially overaggressive, Logano has raced in that style for several years, especially after struggling in his four seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing.

He moved to Team Penske in 2013 and soon found a place where he could thrive. The 28-year-old had made two previous championship appearances, finishing fourth in 2014 and second in 2016.

"There's no question that Joey wanted it bad," Penske said. "The team gave him a terrific car. We had the benefit of being able to work on our car after we got in at Martinsville, which certainly gives you a couple of weeks to not have the pressure, which definitely was a benefit of us.

"There's no question we had for 30-35 laps was outstanding."

Logano led a race-high 80 laps as he capped a comeback from a year ago when he didn't make the playoffs and finished 17th -- the best of the non-playoff drivers -- in the standings.

The title was the second for Team Penske to go with the 2012 title won by Brad Keselowski. It added another highlight to a year where the motorsports organization won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 with Will Power, earned its 500th overall victory with Keselowski at Vegas and is contention to win the V8 Supercars championship in Australia.

"It's something I never imagined it at the beginning (of the year)," Penske said. "We started out at strong when you looked at our speeds at Daytona. We had a little bit of a shallow spell there and our guys got to work."

It was also a big win for Ford, which had not had a driver win a championship since 2004 with Kurt Busch.

The 2018 season finale was possibly the last race for 2003 champion Matt Kenseth, who finished sixth, his best race of the 15 he competed in this year while running a part-time schedule for Roush Fenway Racing.

It also was the last race for driver Jimmie Johnson to be paired with crew chief Chad Knaus. They won seven championships and 81 races over their 17 years together. Knaus will move to Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron next year while JR Motorsports crew chief Kevin Meendering will crew chief Johnson.

It was the first winless season of Johnson's career.

"I've had such a fortunate career and I would have loved to keep that streak alive -- clearly that is not the case," Johnson said. "Instead of reflecting on this year and how bad it was because I know that reality, I've been living it first-hand.

"I just think it's important for me and the team right now to look back on what we have done together over 17 years together."</s>Joey Logano wins his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, taking season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Joey Logano wins his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, taking season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.</s>HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Joey Logano wins his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, taking season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.</s>HOMESTEAD, FLA.—Joey Logano busted up The Big Three and captured an improbable first NASCAR title by soundly beating a trio of champions. Logano won the season finale Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway to grab his first Cup championship in a season in which he barely contended until the playoffs began. The year was dominated by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr., with Logano calling the final-four field “The Big Three and Me.”

But Logano kicked it into another gear during the playoffs with two victories and got eight top-10 finishes in the post-season. He led a race-high 80 laps but the title was slipping away until Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski spun Busch teammate Daniel Suarez for a race-changing caution. He was fourth on the restart with 15 laps remaining but powered his way alongside leader Truex, used a power move in the outside lane three laps later to take over the top spot and he pulled away to win for Roger Penske. “We were the favourite. We executed down the stretch like nobody’s business,” Logano said. “I knew we had a short-run car. I said it before the race started that if it was anything longer than 25 laps we were going to be in trouble. That showed all day. But it came down to the short run and we are champions. NASCAR champions.”

Logano won the title in his 10th season in NASCAR and with his second team. He started with Joe Gibbs Racing as a teenager, was pushed into the Cup Series prematurely when Gibbs needed a replacement driver for Tony Stewart, and was snagged by Penske when Gibbs let Logano go after the 2012 season. “I think it’s great for them and Joey,” Gibbs said. “Great kid, great family. I’m sure he’s going to make a great champion.” He is the second Cup champion for Penske, the titan of motorsports who has had a banner year. Penske also this season was elected into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, won the Indianapolis 500 for a record 17th time and celebrated Team Penske’s 500th victory as an organization. Team Penske has also been the cornerstone for Ford the last six seasons and Logano gave the manufacturer its first Cup title since 2004. “He sure delivered for us,” Penske said. “I don’t want him to change at all. He needs to do just what he did today, beat all these guys and win fair and square.”

NASCAR’s final weekend concluded with three new champions from three different teams representing all three manufacturers. Brett Moffitt won the Truck Series title in a Toyota for Hattori Racing, Tyler Reddick won the Xfinity Series title in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, and Ford finally got a title on what is officially called “Ford Championship Weekend.” Truex finished second in his final race with Furniture Row Racing. The team is closing because it lost its primary sponsor midway through Truex’s championship reign.

“It’s a tough way to lose,” Truex said. “I had nothing for him at the end. That’s just the way it goes. I don’t know what else to say. It hurts a little, and I’m going to miss all of the guys.” Harvick was third and Busch fourth as the title contenders followed each other across the finish line. “We weren’t even close,” said Busch, who used strategy to keep up with the other title contenders. “We were so bad tonight on the racetrack and on pit road that nothing was kind of going our way. So it was just not all there the way that we needed it to, and sometimes it all falls into place and falls your way, and other times you’ve got to be able to go out there and go earn it, and we didn’t have either.” In fact, Busch’s crew had one of its worst races of the year on pit road as the front tire changer had hiccups on several stops. It negated any advantage Busch gained when team owner Gibbs forced Denny Hamlin not to take the first pit stall and leave it open so Busch would have an easier exit back onto the track. But he lost six positions during one stop, four in another, and his team had to gamble on strategy to stay in contention. It was Busch who said losing the title would be most disappointing if it went to Logano because Logano wasn’t in the same league as the Big Three all season. But Logano was adamant he was the favourite, in part because he wasn’t even supposed to make the final four after just one regular season victory. Busch and Harvick ended the season with eight wins each, while Truex had four. “Lots of wins,” Busch said. “Forget about it now, move on.” The title is redemption for Logano, who could have washed out of the sport when Gibbs cut him from the team. But he reinvented himself under Penske and became comfortable as an aggressive driver, even when it cost him. Logano was the favourite to win the 2015 title but missed the finale because a feud with Matt Kenseth cost him on the track. He was the championship runner-up in 2016, and a penalty kept his No. 22 out of last season’s playoffs. Logano this season had to move Truex out of his way in the final turn at Martinsville Speedway last month to earn his berth in the championship race. Logano, the 28-year-old Connecticut racer, was criticized for his aggressiveness, and Truex promised he’d prevent Logano from winning the Cup, but Logano insisted he made the necessary move to win a championship. And in the final 15-lap shootout to the finish, Logano simply drove around the outside of Truex and pulled away. If Truex had any intention of stopping Logano he had to catch him first, he couldn’t and finished 1.725 seconds behind. Logano’s third win came at Homestead, where the champion has won the race to win the title since this format was introduced in 2014. He’s NASCAR’s 33rd different champion and first from Connecticut.</s>Paul Menard and the No. 21 Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford team ended their first season together with a 25th-place finish in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Menard and the team consider their first year a promising foundation for future successes.

Menard ended the year with a pole at Chicago, one top-five and seven top-10 finishes, nine appearances in the final round of knock-out qualifying, a stage win at Talladega and 19th place in the final points standings. Exciting, try the OnlineCasinoTW online gambling site will take you to the online casino!

“We’ve definitely got something to build on,” Eddie Wood said. “It’s been a real pleasure working with Paul and [crew chief] Greg Erwin this year.”

At Homestead, Menard started 22nd and struggled to find speed early on. Adjustments by Erwin and the crew improved the performance of the No. 21 Ford, but much of the race was spent trying to recover from a lap lost in Stage One as well as an untimely pit stop to repair damage from a brush with the wall midway through Stage Two.

Erwin gambled by taking the wave-around on three occasions. His tactics and Menard’s driving allowed Menard to hold off Daniel Suarez and Jamie McMurray in a three-way battle for 19th place in the final points standings.

The Wood Brothers and the Quick Lane team joined lots of others in the garage in congratulating race winner Joey Logano and the No. 22 crew from Team Penske for their 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series championship as well as their friends from Ford Motor Company for winning the Manufacturer’s Championship for the Cup Series.

“We couldn’t be happier for Roger Penske, Edsel Ford, Joe Hinrichs, Doug Yates and all our friends at Ford Performance,” Wood said. “A lot of hard work went into both championships, and we congratulate them on their accomplishments.”

Sunday’s race also saw the No. 21 Quick Lane Fusion carry the name of the late David Pearson on the door, the team’s way of honoring the Hall of Fame driver many consider the best ever and one who is a large part of Wood Brothers history.

“We were proud to have David’s name on the car one more time,” Wood said. “And we’d like to send our best wishes to his family.

“We’d also like to thank our fans for their support this season. We have some of the most loyal fans in the sport, and we hope they all enjoy the holiday season.”

Menard and the Wood Brothers return to the track next February for the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

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Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Fusion driven by Paul Menard in the famous No. 21 racer.</s>HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Joey Logano busted up The Big Three and captured an improbable first NASCAR title by soundly beating a trio of champions.

Logano won the season finale Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway to grab his first Cup championship in a season in which he barely contended until the playoffs began. The year was dominated by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr., with Logano calling the final-four field “The Big Three and Me.” But Logano kicked it into another gear to steal the title.

He passed Truex with 12 laps remaining and pulled away to win for Roger Penske, the car owner who celebrated this year his election into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a 17th victory in the Indianapolis 500 and now a second title in NASCAR’s top series.

It marked the first championship for Ford since 2004.

Truex finished second in his final race with Furniture Row Racing. The team is closing because it lost its primary sponsor midway through Truex’s championship reign.

“It’s a tough night, a tough way to lose,” Truex said. “I had nothing for him at the end. That’s just the way it goes. I don’t know what else to say. It hurts a little, and I’m going to miss all of the guys.”

Harvick was third and Busch fourth as the title contenders followed each other across the finish line.

“We weren’t even close,” said Busch, who used strategy to keep up with the other title contenders.

But it was Logano who took the checkered flag, climbed to the roof of his car and was embraced by his Penske crew.

Logano had to move Truex out of his way in the final turn at Martinsville Speedway last month to earn his berth in the championship race. The 28-year-old Connecticut racer was criticized for his aggressiveness, and Truex promised he’d prevent Logano from winning the Cup, but Logano insisted he made the necessary move to win a championship.

And in the final 15-lap shootout to the finish, Logano used a power move on the outside line to shoot past Truex and drive away. If Truex had any intention of stopping Logano he had to catch him first, he couldn’t and finished 1.725 seconds behind.

Logano had been adamant he was the favorite to win the race, in part because he wasn’t even supposed to make the final four and had just one regular season victory. Busch and Harvick ended the season with eight wins each, while Truex had four.

Logano’s third win came at Homestead, where the champion has won the race to win the title since this format was introduced in 2014. Logano was the favorite to win the 2015 title but missed the finale, was the championship runner-up in 2016 and a penalty kept his No. 22 out of last season’s playoffs.</s>NASCAR Cup: season-finale at Homestead Miami Speedway has takes of retro

Three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are going retro for the 2018 season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, marking the ends of eras, of sorts, for their respective race teams.

Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 will be the final race for championship contender Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team. That team is going flat black for Sunday’s race. In the early years of the race team’s existence, the No. 78 was flat black with the plain logo of car owner Barney Visser’s other business, Furniture Row. The team went with a shinier finish on its car when it acquired sponsorship from companies like Bass Pro Shops and 5-Hour Energy.

The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, meanwhile, is commemorating the separation of driver/crew chief duo Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. Johnson and Knaus have worked together since Johnson’s first full-time season in the Cup Series, 2002, but Sunday’s race will be their last together before Knaus moves over to assume crew chief duties for William Byron on the No. 24 team. Johnson’s car for Homestead carries a retro scheme, reminiscent of the No. 48 he drove his rookie season. Johnson is also going facial retro, foregoing his beard for the clean-shaven look of the early years of his career.

The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team of Paul Menard will honor one of its former drivers, three-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson, on its car Sunday. Pearson passed away on November 12 at the age of 83. Pearson is second on the NASCAR premier series all-time wins list with 105. Pearson’s name appears under the window of Menard’s car this weekend.

“He was a true legend of the sport and a long-time driver for the Wood Brothers,” Menard said. “It’ll be a privilege to honor him.”

Follow Auto Racing Daily on Twitter @AutoRacingDaily or like Auto Racing Daily on Facebook (facebook.com/autoracingdailyonline).</s>Logano won the Ford EcoBoost 400 in Homestead-Miami and his first Cup Championship of his 10-year career. In addition, Team Penske secured the Owner’s Championship and Ford Motor Company claimed the Manufacturers’ Championship title. The drivers’ championship is Ford’s ninth overall and sixth in the modern era (1972-present).

“It means a lot to me personally to have both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championship,” said Edsel B. Ford II. “It has been since 1999 and I was there with Robert Yates and Dale Jarrett. Doing it again, 19 years later, it is absolutely indescribable to me.”

“This is incredible,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It is so hard to win these championships. I am so proud of everyone at Team Penske, Joey Logano, Todd Gordon, Ford Performance, Edsel Ford and Joe Hinrichs are here. We put so much effort into this thing and to see it all come together is a super proud moment. That was an intense race and I am glad we got it done.”

The No. 22 Ford Fusion started the race from the fifth position and battled hard to take the lead for the first time on lap 91. But it all came down to a clean pit stop and restart after a late race caution.

The No. 22 pit crew put Logano in position to win, as the No. 22 lined up, side-by-side Martin Truex Jr. for what would be the final restart of the race. With a power move by Logano, he took the lead from Truex. He was able to pull away from the field and take the checkered flag 1.725 seconds in front of Truex.

“We did it,” shouted Logano in post-race interview. “We won the championship! I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to say. This team, Roger Penske, Todd Gordon, the pit crew. Oh my God. They gave me the car I needed at the end to do my job. Put me in position to do my job. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Ford Fusions led a total of 138 laps out of the 267-lap race, with Logano leading 80 and Ford teammate and Playoff Final Four driver, Kevin Harvick leading 58 laps.

“This means so much for Ford Motor Company and all of our employees that work so hard,” commented Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance. “I just can’t believe this right now. We have worked so hard for the last three years to build up the program and to have this 2018 season and have 19 wins, the manufacturers’ championship and the drivers’ championship. It is incredible to have the company achieve this with the help of our partners, Team Penske and Roush Yates Engines. It is incredible.”

A total of seven Ford’s finished in the top-10. Following Logano was the No. 4, Harvick, Stage 1 winner and third place finisher of the night. Harvick won a driver high eight wins this season. Brad Keselowski finished fifth, Matt Kenseth from Roush Fenway Racing sixth, and SHR teammates Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch finished eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

The MENCS season concludes with 21 overall wins by seven different drivers, 15 poles and three Championships.

In addition, Cole Custer (Homestead-Miami pole winner) and Stewart-Haas Racing won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Owner’s Championship on Saturday night.

About Roush Yates Engines

 Roush Yates Engines is a cutting-edge engine development company, with 3 state-of-the-art facilities based in Mooresville, NC; which include Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates Performance Engines Group, focused on road racing and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class manufacturing center and ISO 9001/AS9100 Rev D certified. The company’s core business includes designing, building, machining, and testing purpose-built race engines and components.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and twin-turbo EcoBoost Ford V6 race engine that powers the Ford GT super car in the IMSA and FIA series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.</s>HOMESTEAD, Fla. — NASCAR’s Cup Series champion will be decided Sunday when title contenders Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. take the green flag at the season finale.

The highest finisher among the four at Homestead-Miami Speedway will earn the trophy. The other 36 drivers in the 40-car field are likely to stay mostly out of the way.

Busch is the 2015 champion and has momentum from winning last week at Phoenix. He also has the most coveted pit stall thanks to a controversial decision Saturday.

Harvick is the 2014 champion and eked into the finale after getting stripped of a victory and an automatic berth two weeks ago at Texas because of an illegal part. Logano is seeking his first title after finishing as runner-up in 2016. Truex is the defending Cup Series champion whose Furniture Row Racing team is shutting down after the race.

Truex is moving to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019, one of a number of series changes on the horizon .

The most notable: Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are parting ways after 17 years together. Sponsor Lowe’s also is leaving NASCAR.</s>With a 31.059-second/173.863 mph lap in the third and final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday to claim the pole starting spot for the final race of the 2018 season — Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400.

“It’s big for us to get this race team up front here,” Hamlin said. “We definitely want to end on a high note and try to win; 2013 we were in the same predicament where we hadn’t won a race until the final race and we got it done, so hopefully, it’s our time to do it. We’re going to keep digging. Hats off to this team. We were hanging around that seventh to tenth the first couple of rounds and they just – (Mike) “Wheels” (Wheeler, crew chief) made the right adjustments.”

Joe Gibbs Racing swept the front row in qualifying. Kyle Busch will start alongside teammate Hamlin on the front row Sunday as the highest-qualifying championship contender.

“Not too bad, wish we had a little bit more there obviously to get the number one pit box,” Busch said. “Two years in a row, Denny has been able to figure that last run out. Just see what happens tomorrow.”

All four title contenders advanced to the third round of qualifying. Reigning champion Martin Truex Jr. will start third for Furniture Row Racing’s final race. Joey Logano qualified fifth and Kevin Harvick 12th.

Joe Gibbs Racing led all three rounds of qualifying Friday. Busch’s 30.920-second/174.644 mph lap in the opening round was the fastest, overall, of the qualifying session. Erik Jones’ 31.028-second/174.036 mph lap was tops in round two.

Other top-10 qualifiers included Brad Keselowski in fourth, Kurt Busch sixth, Jones seventh, Ryan Newman eighth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ninth and Aric Almirola in 10th.

Below, is the complete starting grid for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
In motorsport, Joey Logano wins the season finale, the Ford EcoBoost 400, to claim his first career Cup Series title.