Joey Logano celebrates making Round of 8 in NASCAR playoffs after Alex Bowman DQ

Joey Logano is back in the game, back in the playoffs and back going for Cup Series championship No. 3 after Alex Bowman and the No. 48 team were disqualified from Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte after the car failed post-race inspection for being underweight.

Logano got the final transfer spot in the Round of 8 as a result of Bowman’s disqualification, which knocked the Hendrick Motorsports driver below the cutline. Hendrick announced Monday it would not appeal NASCAR‘s penalty, officially giving Logano the final spot. As you could imagine, Logano is one happy man and posted an iconic clip from “The Hangover” on X to sum up his feelings.

Logano is indeed back and part of a stacked Round of 8 field which includes four drivers who have already won at least one championship (Logano, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney) and four drivers going for their first (Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Tyler Reddick).

As we know, it’s an even year, and Logano knows how to find his way to the Championship 4 in an even year. Logano won his championships in 2018 and 2022, finished fourth in 2014, second in 2016 and third in 2020. If history tells us anything, Logano will be there again in a month’s time.

Joey Logano gets season-saving break after Round of 12 finale at Charlotte Roval

But in the immediate aftermath of the Round of 12 finale at Charlotte, that wasn’t a possibility. A P8 finish initially left him four points short of advancing.

“I mean we fought hard for sure. And I think [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] and the guys did a good job of executing the strategy of what we needed to do today,” Logano said after the race. “Just didn’t get quite enough there at the end, fell off a little bit too much that last run. Honestly, the 45 and Tyler and those guys did a good job driving up through the field and scored more points.

“It’s hard not to think about Richmond a little bit right now.”

It’s a possibility now, and his bid for a third Cup Series title begins this Sunday at Las Vegas.

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