New Champion Crowned at Homestead-Miami

Credit:David Graham/AP

Credit: Terry Renna/AP

Congrats to the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano! The whole season was on the line for 4 drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Logano proved that you don’t have to be the best driver all season long, you just have to be the best driver at the right time. Logano held off the rest of the field to capture his first win at Homestead. This is Logano’s 1st Championship and is the 2nd title for the Mooresville, North Carolina based Penske Racing. The buzz surrounding the 2018 season was the “Big 3” and their success over the rest of the field. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr., aka the “Big 3”, were all in title contention going into the Homestead race and compiled 20 wins during the 2018 season. Since NASCAR implemented the new winner-take-all setup with 4 drivers heading to Miami for the championship race, this was the first time the 4 drivers in contention finished in the Top 4. This just goes to show how difficult it is to win a title. Logano probably had the best car on short runs, but it was Kyle Busch’s race to lose after a flawless pit stop with under 20 laps to go. On the first lap of the restart, Truex got a great start, and led for a little while, but he couldn’t hold off Logano, who passed him on the high line with 12 laps to go. At only 28 years old, look for Logano to be in title contention for many years to come. 

The title win for Logano isn’t without controversy. Many NASCAR fans did not like the Martinsville race when Logano moved Truex out of the way to clinch a spot in the finale. What I don’t understand is why fans didn’t like it. That sort of thing is what made NASCAR such a popular sport. Fans want aggressive driving, but complain when the wrong driver is aggressive. Dale Earnhardt Sr. made a living out of being the most aggressive driver in the field, and that’s what made him great. It seems like today drivers are discouraged from being aggressive for some reason. Stress and tension on the track is what puts people in the seats and for NASCAR to grow as a sport, there needs to be people like Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson to push the boundaries and make it a more enjoyable experience for fans. The 2019 season will be back in February for the annual Daytona 500 and it should be another great year for racing.

Also, I wanted to point out one of our writers at The Sports Chief, AustYn, wrote an article prior to the Homestead race predicting that Joey Logano would take the title. Check it Out! 

Yacs