Logano Looks For One More Large Performance In Chase: No driver has been better in this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup than Joey Logano. The 24-year-old has coasted his way to the Championship 4 behind a Chase-best 5.3 average finish and two victories. To earn his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, Logano likely needs to produce one more dominant effort in Sunday's Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead. The #22 Team Penske driver does not need to win the event to take home the title, but instead must finish ahead of Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman - a task he has completed 10 times this season. Logano has the worst previous statistics at Homestead among the Championship 4 with one top 10 and an average finish of 20.8 in five starts there. The silver lining... he finished eighth at Homestead last season in his first campaign with Team Penske and has performed at an elite level on 1.5-mile tracks this year. In Logano's nine starts at 1.5 mile courses in 2014, he boasts two victories and leads all drivers with a 5.8 average finish and six top-five performances.
If Logano wins the championship, at 24 years, 5 months and 23 days, he would become the youngest driver to capture the series crown since Jeff Gordon in 1995 - and third premier series champion under the age of 25, joining Gordon and Bill Rexford, who was 23 years old when he won the title in 1950. A native of Middletown, Connecticut, he would be the first driver from the Constitution State to win a NASCAR premier series title.
In addition, a Logano championship would mark the second title for Team Penske, that claimed its first with the efforts of Brad Keselowski in 2012. Currently leading the NASCAR Nationwide Series owner standings by 29 points, Roger Penske's racing outfit has a legitimate chance of becoming the first team to win a NSCS, NNS and IndyCar championship in the same season.(NASCAR)(11-13-2014)
Hamlin Hopes To Repeat At Homestead: After going winless the first 35 races last year, Denny Hamlin captured the checkered flag in the season finale at Homestead to salvage his streak of notching at least one victory in each of his first eight full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series campaigns. The stakes are higher for the #11 FedEx driver in Sunday's Championship race at Homestead. If Hamlin wins at the 1.5-mile track, or just finishes ahead of Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman, he will capture his first series championship. Hamlin expressed his confidence in a title race at Homestead on Eliminator 8 Media Day, saying: "Truth be told, if you ask me 'you have one race to race heads up for a championship, pick either Martinsville or Homestead?' I'd almost pick Homestead simply because we've just had a lot of success there over these last few years and it's been a great track for us." Hamlin has won at the Miami-area track twice and also claims four top-five and ten top-10 finishes there. In 2010, Hamlin found himself in a similar situation in the biggest race of his life prior to Sunday - the Ford 400 season finale at Homestead. The Chesterfield, Virginia native entered the race 15 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson for the standings lead. With the championship in his sights, Hamlin failed to stave off Johnson. He qualified 37th and spun on the 25th lap, events that culminated in a 14th-place finish. Johnson took second to win his fifth straight title.
With a new shot at redemption, Hamlin can accomplish two major milestones by winning the championship: Unable to compete at Auto Club in March due to an injury caused by a piece of metal lodged into the back of his eye, Hamlin can become the first NSCS champion to miss a race since NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty in 1971. Petty missed two races that year: A Daytona qualifying races - which was a points race at that time - and a race in Macon, Georgia's Middle Georgia Raceway. Hamlin, 33, can pilot the first Toyota to a NSCS title.(NASCAR)(11-13-2014)