Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Championship Race | Sunday, November 10, 2024
FORD WINS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR AS JOEY LOGANO CAPTURES TITLE IN SEASON FINALE AT PHOENIX RACEWAY
- Ford’s NASCAR Cup Series championship streak extended to three straight today after Joey Logano won the title in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
- This marks the first time Ford has won the Cup title three years in a row and the first time Team Penske has achieved that feat. Logano (2022), Blaney (2023), Logano (2024).
- Ford has won the Cup Series championship 12 times by nine different drivers.
- In addition, Ford has won at least two NASCAR championships in each of the last three seasons, including a sweep of all three last year.
- Overall, Ford has won eight of the last 10 titles in NASCAR’s top three touring series dating back to Logano’s Cup championship in 2022.
- Logano is the first Ford driver to win at least three Cup Series championships and the 10th driver in NASCAR history, joining fellow three-time winners Tony Stewart, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson and Lee Petty; four-time champion Jeff Gordon; and seven-time titleholders Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONS
1965 – Ned Jarrett
1968 – David Pearson
1969 – David Pearson
1988 – Bill Elliott
1992 – Alan Kulwicki
1999 – Dale Jarrett
2003 – Matt Kenseth
2004 – Kurt Busch
2018 – Joey Logano
2022 – Joey Logano
2023 – Ryan Blaney
2024 – Joey Logano
Ford Performance Results:
1st – Joey Logano
2nd – Ryan Blaney
9th – Chris Buescher
12th – Noah Gragson
13th – Austin Cindric
15th – Brad Keselowski
16th – Harrison Burton
20th – Todd Gilliland
24th – Josh Berry
29th – Chase Briscoe
31st – Michael McDowell
32nd – Corey LaJoie
34th – Kaz Grala
36th – Chad Finchum
37th – Ryan Preece
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – WHAT MAKES YOU FIND A DIFFERENT LEVEL IN THESE SITUATIONS? “I love the playoffs. I love it, man. What a race. What a Team Penske battle there at the end. I had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. He had a lot of long run speed there and that was all I had there to hold him off. We have three of them. That’s really special. What a team to fight through today. We went through a little bit of adversity in throughout the race. I can’t thank Ford enough and Shell and Pennzoil and Hunt Brother’s Pizza. Paul Wolfe, what a crew chief I have. I’ve got the best team. I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I’ve got the best team and together we’re very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most. We’ve got a mentally tough team that can make things happen when it matters.”
WHAT DID YOU FIND TO KEEP BLANEY BEHIND YOU? “Coleman Pressley. He was telling me where he was. He was up there telling me the best lanes to run and it’s a balance of putting dirty air on him and running the fastest laps for my Ford. We just got a little too tight there at the end and I couldn’t really wrap the bottom as good as I wanted to, so a 1-2 for Team Penske – three championships in a row since this Next Gen car. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone at the shop that’s built these things. Our pit stall is way over there because of what happened. I’m kind of bummed out. I don’t see them out here yet.”
HOW MUCH OF THIS CHAMPIONSHIP STORY IS ABOUT MAXIMIZING THE OPPORTUNITIES YOU HAD? “The race started in Vegas for us. The amount of work and effort that went into building this race car right here, the amount of time, I don’t think anyone works harder than us. We were up at 6 o’clock in the morning going over stuff and the guys just want it bad. I’m glad we delivered. It was looking iffy there for a minute, but that late-race restart was really the difference maker. I’m so proud of the team.”
ONE OF ONLY 10 DRIVERS TO WIN THREE TITLES. HOW DOES THAT FEEL? “It’s special, for sure, but I can’t help but think about everybody that this affects even more so than just a stat like that. Everyone works so hard and there are so many important things that happen when you win a championship and it affects so many people’s lives – two or three or four or five, whatever, this affects a lot of people. That’s what I care about the most. That’s me getting a little older and caring about others more, but that’s probably the thing that comes back to my mind about the amount of people that this affects, especially with a 1-2 with Blaney like that – 1-2 in the race and 1-2 in the championship. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”
TALK ABOUT THE FINAL LAPS. “The restart was everything. Getting a good start and getting cleared quick. The 12 got mired back there a little bit. I knew he was the fastest car and I knew that when we came here that he was gonna be wicked fast and hard to beat, but we had to out race him. I knew that coming into it. I said, ‘I’ve got to outsmart him and outrace him’ because I know he’s got speed and the 22 team did that. They showed up under pressure.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I’m just worn out. I just couldn’t quite get there. I tried really had to do so, but the restart didn’t really work out and just got too far away from me. It took me a while to pass a couple guys and I just could never get by Joey and I ran out of time. Congrats to him. Congrats to the 22 team and Pennzoil and Ford. They put together a great playoffs and we’re happy. If we’re gonna race somebody, I’m happy it was him for the championship and happy to be 1-2 for Roger. Three in a row for Roger. It’s super amazing and Ford, but on my side I hate it for Menards, Advance Auto Parts, BodyArmor, DEX Imaging, Wabash and Wurth group – everybody who puts a lot of effort into our program and just super fast, just didn’t quite have enough there at the end. At least a Penske car won it, but it was a heck of a battle. Hopefully, the fans enjoyed it and hopefully we can come back even stronger next year.”
DID YOU THINK YOU HAD JOEY ONCE YOU GOT PAST THE OTHER TWO CARS? “I didn’t know. I had to work really hard to get by the 5 and the 24 and Joey was pretty far away. I was working really hard to try to get to Joey, so I was kind of nervous that if I ended up getting close to him, a lot of my stuff would be burned off of it and it kind of was, but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t really wait. It just took too long. The restart just didn’t play out for us. I feel like if I came out behind Joey and didn’t have two cars in between us to pass, I would have been able to have a better shot, but the restart didn’t work out and that’s just the way it goes sometimes. I’m just so proud of the 12 team for their effort and really, really happy with our year and happy for Roger Penske and Joey Logano and Paul Wolfe and all those guys. We’ll try to restack and go at it again.”
ROGER PENSKE, Owner, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – THREE STRAIGHT TITLES WITH TWO OF YOUR CARS BATTLING FOR IT. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? “I was worried they were going to get together at the end, but I think Joey had a little bit left there. Ryan did a great job because he was held up a little bit there at the beginning, but great racing all day long. I can only thank everybody upstairs. They were tremendous and these Ford engines and obviously our Shell sponsor. Think about that. They were on the car at Indy for the 500 and for here, so a pretty good day.”
WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT YOUR GROUP IN MOORESVILLE, NC? “It’s all about the people. My name might be on the door, but it’s all about the people who make the difference and we sure have them on this team.”
JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Texas A&M University Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Man, this is just such a special group and I can’t say thank you enough to everyone at SHR for all they did this season. We had some really tough circumstances and a lot of uncertainty and the No. 4 group still showed up and gave it their all, and I am just so thankful.”
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 Nitro Circus Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a good improvement from where we were in practice and then where we qualified and just continued to stay in the fight and inch our way up front. We were looking at a top 10 day and just faded a little bit too much there on the last run, but, overall, today is about the memories and the people – the people at Stewart-Haas are in a tough position right now with everything that’s gone on this year, but we all rally behind each other and support each other and today is about all those people that are looking for jobs, build these race cars, get our race team to the racetrack that work so hard and sacrifice so much, so, overall I’m super grateful and I’ll cherish this moment today.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It definitely wasn’t the day we wanted to end on. We just couldn’t ever get the car driving right and I sped on pit road. We weren’t gonna be very good probably anyway, but it wasn’t the finish we wanted. I told the guys before we took off whether we win or finish 36th, ‘let’s just have fun today and enjoy it.’ This is probably the most smiling and laughing we’ve ever had after a 29th-place finish. We would have loved to have a better result, but at the end of the day it was all about just enjoying each other and the people and everything that makes Stewart-Haas so special. It’s been a place I’m so thankful to have called home for the last seven years, and I didn’t think it would honestly be this emotional. I was crying before we even rolled off pit road. I’m appreciative of the opportunity from Tony and Gene. My dream was to make it into the Cup Series and the 14 car was the car I always cheered for, so the fact I got to drive it and do it for my childhood hero was pretty cool, so definitely something I’ll never take for granted.”
