'Refuse To Lose', Joey Logano Says After Winning 2018 NASCAR Championship

Joey Logano was crowned the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion after he beat Martin Truex Jr. to win the Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. It was the Connecticut-born driver’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship title after he became the second-youngest driver to win the famed Daytona 500 race in 2015.

The win in Homestead was Logano’s third of the season after near misses last season. The Team Penske driver was delighted to stand on the top step of the podium with the championship.

The 28-year-old took the lead of the race from Truex Jr. with 12 laps to go and there was no looking back. He crossed the line 1.725 seconds ahead, screaming the words: “Oh, my God! Yes!” on the radio.

“We did it! We won the championship! I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to say. This team, (owner) Roger Penske, (crew chief) Todd Gordon, the pit crew,” Logano said, as per NASCAR.com. “Oh, my God! They gave me the car I needed at the end to do my job. Put me in position to do my job. I couldn’t be more proud of them. We won the championship! Oh, my God!”

It was Logano’s 21st career victory and his win gave Ford their first manufacturers title since 2002, while the last time they won the drivers’ championship was in 2004 when Kurt Busch won the first Playoffs in 2004.

Logano has finished second previously — behind seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson — in 2016 and admitted that “it stinks”, but was delighted to finally have the winning feeling. He also credited himself for not backing down after he pulled off a late move on Truex Jr. who was seeking a second NASCAR Cup Series title.

“It’s an amazing night,” Logano added, as per USA Today. “I know what second felt like, and I know how much it stinks. I didn’t know what winning felt like, but it feels really, really good.”

"You can't just be confident and say it because then it's just kind of BS, right? You have to believe it inside,” he explained. "When you put yourself in high-pressure situations, you find more out of yourself. I think that move at the end of the race shows it. You refuse to lose. You really do."

Logano received congratulatory messages from a number of drivers including NASCAR and IndyCar . With one semi-retired Stock car driver even describing this season as “one of the best in years.”