Joey Logano gains strength and makes it to Championship 4

Joey Logano really secured a race win on Sunday in Las Vegas with a huge roll of the dice late in the race.

While most of the front runners pitted for fuel when green, he was part of a small group that stayed out and tried to refuel until the finish. Daniel Suarez led the drivers in fuel economy strategy, but with some help from Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, Logano grabbed the top spot in the closing laps.

Logano fought at full strength against the attacking Christopher Bell, winning the race and securing his place in the 4th championship – something he has always achieved other year since the format debuted in 2014. The last time he won the fall race in Vegas, he also won the title (2022).

“Oh my God,” Logano laughed. “What an incredible turn of events last week. We had a fast Mustang… Hello to my kids at home. I wish you were out here, but we're off to Championship 4 again! I don't know what the even-year thing is about… but maybe it's real.”

As he recalled the final laps of the race, he praised his crew chief Paul Wolfe for a “great performance.” “Everyone does a good job providing me with the information I needed. You have to keep the right pace to make sure you get in front of the No. 99 (Suarez) but not get where the No. 20 (Bell) wanted to go.” Catch me. It's just an incredible day to track mileage. It's not just the engineer, the driver or the spotter, but we all have to win together. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top five car and were able to make the most of it in the end.”

It was a dramatic week for Logano. He was eliminated from the playoffs at the Roval last weekend and was reinstated after Alex Bowman was disqualified. Now he has a chance to become the first three-time NASCAR Cup champion in this knockout format.

Bell, who dominated the race before fuel became a factor, appeared shocked after the race. He leaves Vegas with a 42-point lead over the cut line, but only Logano is suspended.

“I don't know … and I don't think I've come to terms with it yet,” said Bell, who led 155 of 267 laps. “It’s just a shame. I think everyone on this team did everything perfectly…did everything we needed to get this Camry into Victory Lane and unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.”

Watch: Bell: 'Nothing is a guarantee' after Vegas win falls short

Suarez was third, William Byron fourth and Alex Bowman fifth. Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, Ross Chastain was seventh, Denny Hamlin was eighth, John-Hunter Nemechek was ninth and Chris Buescher was tenth.

Reddick's wild ride

Tyler Reddick won the opening stage, but just minutes later he became the first driver since 2000 to roll over in a NASCAR stock car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In a bizarre accident, he collided with Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, sending all three skidding into the infield. Reddick's car dug in and rolled completely before landing back on its wheels and ending his race.

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Jordan Brand Toyota Camry Flip Car

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Team Penske duo Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric were also involved in the incident. Blaney and Elliott were the only drivers with damage able to continue, but both were several laps down after repairs.

Bell won the second stage after battling his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Truex. The final stage saw a heated battle for the free pass between Kyle Larson, who was trying to recover from an unscheduled pit stop, and Ty Gibbs, who was stuck for a lap and knocked down after a speeding penalty.

In the end, Gibbs went a little too far and turned around. The warning came just outside the fuel window, but some drivers tried to push it as far as possible.

The first of the leaders to pit were Chris Buescher and Truex, both of whom were in the top five. Race director Christopher Bell decided to make a pit stop 38 laps from the finish.

Suarez, Logano and Hamlin led the riders trying to go the distance. Logano took the lead with just five laps to go and at the checkered flag there was only 0.662 seconds between Logano and Bell.

Bell is in the safest spot with +42 points, followed by Larson with +35 and Byron with +27. The drivers in the elimination zone: Hamlin at -27, Reddick at -30, Blaney at -47 and Elliott at -53. The NASCAR Cup Series will now be at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the 34th round of the 2024 season.