JOEY'S TIME.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. As I've gone on record many, many times before I am not a fan of NASCAR, the way it's run, the death march of a schedule, the numbing repetitiveness, and the constant Bush League Bullshit that emanates from Daytona Beach and Charlotte. But I will always acknowledge the teams, the technical people and the drivers, because they're the only part of the NASCAR Circus worth talking about.

Twenty-eight-year-old Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford) led a race-high 80 laps and defeated "Championship 4" contenders Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Bass Pro Shops/5-Hour Energy Toyota), Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Jimmy John's Ford) and Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Toyota) on his way to the win at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday night, winning the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship in the process. Logano restarted third behind Busch and Truex Jr. with 15 laps left. Truex powered into the lead, but with 12 laps remaining, Logano charged past him into the lead and never looked back.

It was the first title for Logano, who has taken more than his fair share of grief ever since he arrived on the scene ten years ago after Mark Martin dubbed him "the greatest thing since sliced bread." The nickname "slice" stuck with him and his aggressive on-track moves didn't endear him to the NASCAR driving establishment, but he had the talent to back up his aggression and it was just a matter of time until he captured NASCAR's biggest prize. It was the second driver championship for team owner Roger Penske, and it was the first championship for Ford since 2004.

Congratulations to all involved.

And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.

(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Joey Logano, 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.


(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Riverside International Raceway, October 4, 1970. One of the most memorable races in Trans-Am history occurred on this day. Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) and George Follmer (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) had combined to win five times that season (Jones four, Follmer one) and clinched the manufacturer’s title for Ford before the season finale at Riverside. Jones started from the pole and led the first five laps of the race on the iconic 2.54-mile road course. But on the sixth lap he ran into trouble. The following quotes are courtesy of National Speed Sport News: “I came up to lap a couple of cars and one got into the other one. When he did, as I was going by he nailed me right in the door,” Jones said. “It knocked me off the track and I went down behind turn nine into the weeds and turned around. It tore the spoiler off of it.” It would have been understandable if Jones had parked his Mustang, especially with Ford having already won the manufacturer's championship, but this was Parnelli, after all, and he returned to the track and set out after the leader, his teammate George Follmer. “I came back onto the track and it was vibrating like crazy,” Jones said. “I figured I may as well give it all (I’ve got) because this is not going to last.” Jones told NSSN that he gave it “one of them 120 percent deals for the rest of the race,” eventually catching Follmer on lap 71 despite the heavy damage to Jones’ Ford Mustang. “I even had to hit the curbing to make it turn. I had to get it up on two wheels to make it turn because it didn’t want to handle as well,” Jones said. “Anyway, I came back and caught my teammate George Follmer and won the race.” “It was one of the best races (I’d run),” Jones said. “If I was going to pat myself on the back, that’s one I might do that.”