Silencing critics with a dominant performance at Richmond, Joey Logano proved his championship pedigree remains elite as he surges up the NASCAR Cup Series standings and readies for The Chase
RICHMOND, Va. — Former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith once said after leading Seattle to his first win as the full-time starter, “They wrote me off, I ain’t write back though.”
The same exact thing can be said about Joey Logano right now.
After a rough start to the 2026 season, the whispers got loud. People started talking again about how “lucky” his three previous championships were, how they were just a byproduct of the old playoff system, and how the return of The Chase was finally exposing him.
The narrative was that Logano’s best days were behind him and that he couldn’t hang with the elite drivers in this format.
Well, Logano is still here.
He might not win the title this year — that’s fair to say — but there’s nothing fluky about 39 career Cup Series victories. That total includes his second win of the season, which came Saturday night at Richmond Raceway in the Cook Out 400.
This wasn’t some lucky break or fuel-mileage special. Logano went out and beat the best car of the night in Chase Briscoe, who led a race-high 171 laps. When it mattered most, the No. 22 was better.
After the race, Logano told USA Sports’ Marty Snider, “Don’t let the boys get hot. We’re pretty strong right now.”
That quote should make the rest of the garage pay attention. Over the last six races, Logano has climbed from 20th in the points all the way up to ninth. That’s not an accident. The speed has been better, the results have followed, and Team Penske is starting to look like the organization we know they can be when everything clicks.
It’s also worth remembering that it wasn’t Logano’s fault Ford as a manufacturer struggled so badly at the beginning of the year. He was stuck driving equipment that simply wasn’t as good as the Toyotas week after week. Now that the cars are closer, Logano is showing once again that he still has what it takes to hang with the best drivers in the series.
You can question the championships all you want. People will always debate the old format versus the current one. What you can’t question is the résumé. Thirty-nine wins. Three titles. Multiple wins in different eras of the sport. And now his third victory at Richmond while climbing the standings in a hurry.
Will Logano actually contend for the championship when The Chase starts? We’ll see.
The competition at the top is still stacked with guys like Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, and others who have been more consistent over the full season. But counting him out has never been a smart move, and it’s looking even dumber right now.
Logano has heard the noise all year. Just like Geno Smith, he didn’t write back with words. He’s writing back with results.
The No. 22 team is rolling, the confidence is up, and Joey Logano is reminding everyone why he’s been one of the most successful drivers of his generation.
Ignore him at your own risk.
