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Back in the spring of 2005, NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin was gushing about a 15-year-old driver from Connecticut winning races in short tracks across the Ohio valley.

"I am high on Joey Logano because I am absolutely, 100 percent positive, without a doubt, that he can be one of the greatest that ever raced in NASCAR," Martin said then. "I'm positive. There's no doubt in my mind. I know it."

Nearly 20 years later, Logano may not quite reach the lofty goal Martin set.

But he's well on his way.

The driver of Team Penske's No. 22 Ford captured his third title in dramatic fashion, holding off teammate Ryan Blaney in the closing laps of the Cup Series finale at Phoenix Raceway. Logano jumped out to the lead on the final restart, track position intact only to watch Blaney reel him back in during an agonizing final 54 laps.

Blaney's push was so intense, the 2023 Cup champion needed medical attention shortly after exiting his Ford. Ultimately, a push to become the first back-to-back champion in the sport's current playoff format fell short.

"Physically," Blaney said, "I had to come from a long way back and tried really hard and I was a little worn out. I just couldn't quite get there."

"It was very intense," Logano added. "It went from, all right, we're looking good to holy shit, here he comes. Ryan is a tremendous race car driver. He is so fast. He pushes me a lot, more so than any other teammate I ever had. He pushes hard. So, to be able to race him to the end, it was fun."

It was also historic, Penske 1-2 in the championship for the first time since becoming a 2-car team at the turn of the century. They've now won three straight, joining Hendrick Motorsports (1995-98, 2006-10) and Junior Johnson (1976-78) as the only car owner to accomplish the feat.

As for Logano, he wound up making a little history himself. The man once known as "Sliced Bread" sliced through the competition to become a three-time champion in an era where NASCAR's 16-driver, multi-round, winner-take-all final-race format makes it impossible to establish consistency. There was a little luck needed, too; Logano only advanced to the semifinal round when another driver, Alex Bowman, found his car disqualified in post-race Charlotte inspection.

But he still found a way, advancing in a year where Logano had the fewest top fives (7), top 10s (13) and average finish (17.1) of his 12 years running for Penske. For a while this summer, it looked like Logano might not even make the postseason altogether before a chaotic overtime finish at Nashville Superspeedway left him an upset winner.

From there, the team felt a spark, producing two more victories during the postseason at the right times to ensure Logano advanced. Phoenix was the third, the icing on the cake of a team that knew how to peak at the right time.

"I put myself in high-pressure moments…" Logano said. "I think as a team we thrive under those situations. That's why we have a lot of playoff wins in comparison to the regular season percentage-wise."

Indeed, 14 of Logano's 36 victories -- nearly half -- have come under the stress of the postseason. That's a little lower than the pace of Jimmie Johnson (83 wins, seven titles) and Jeff Gordon (93 wins, four titles), who have set the standard for the modern era.

But Logano, at age 34, has up to a decade of racing still to get there. Johnson started his run of five straight titles at age 31; Dale Earnhardt Sr. was still winning a bulk of races up until his early 40s.  

"To be here now…" Logano said. "Being one championship away from legends like Jeff Gordon, but being in the same category as a Darrell Waltrip and some of these others, it's mindboggling. Just so crazy to think about it."

Whatever the circumstances, it's impressive how Logano has made the most of them. Like Martin said all those years ago, it's what the greatest racers always do.

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Green: Ford. It was another banner year for the Blue Ovals, winning the Truck Series championship Friday night with Ty Majeski and following up with Logano on Sunday. Fords have now won seven of the last nine titles across NASCAR's top three divisions: Cup, Xfinity and Trucks.  

Yellow: Christopher Bell. After the controversial Martinsville finish, Bell spoke out during a testy press conference at Phoenix where he accused Chevy drivers of race manipulation. He then came out with a vengeance, leading a race-high 143 laps and in contention to win the race until the final restart. It just wasn't ever going to be a championship performance, frustrating for a driver who led a career-high 1,145 laps and emerged as a title favorite down the stretch.

Red: Martin Truex Jr. Poles in the final two races led to hope Truex would end his full-time Cup career on a high note. Not the case. Runs of 24th and 17th left a sour taste in the end for a No. 19 Toyota team that's underperformed most of the season.

At least Truex got the respect he deserves as a future Hall of Famer these final two weeks, getting a standing ovation from the rest of the NASCAR driving corps in Sunday's pre-race meeting.

Speeding Ticket: NASCAR. It was a tough week for the sanctioning body, doubling down on this current postseason format after a week in which Martinsville mayhem led to three crew chief suspensions and concerns about future race manipulation.

In the end, their champion -- as deserving as Logano was -- only got to advance because another driver had their car flunk post-race inspection. It's just left a sour taste in many fans' mouths and much of the garage pushing for change in the offseason. We'll see.

Brad Keselowski continues to take the lead on that, his thoughts permeating around X following the checkered flag at Phoenix.

Oops!

A clean race in the NASCAR finale had just one hard hit, Ty Gibbs losing control on Lap 3 and slapping the outside wall not once, but twice.

"I think I'm OK … It was definitely a big hit," Gibbs said. "I made contact with the wall, but I didn't think it was necessarily too bad, and I went off into the dogleg. We've been really hard on the track there all week and I think I just caught it at a bad angle, and it just took off from me. I had no control there. It was a really, really big hit though."

It ended Gibbs' season on a sour note, the dreaded sophomore slump catching up with him. After a first-round playoff exit, his last five finishes of the year were 30th or worse, including two DNFs.