Dread it. Run from it. Even-year Joey Logano still arrives all the same.
The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion may have had his championship chances hurt by the return to the Chase rather than the playoffs, but he vaulted himself right back up into the postseason picture on Sunday night with a dominant win at North Wilkesboro.
Leading 323 of the race's 450 laps, the Team Penske star took 73 points to jump back into the top 16, right behind a crowded group of drivers battling for extra Chase points when things reset at the end of the regular season.
Erik Jones was the man who made way for Logano in the top 16, with Austin Cindric also going behind the now-15th placed No. 22 car, while Shane van Gisbergen had his best day of the year on an oval to pick up 47 crucial points in fifth place and open up something of a cushion to the cut.
At the top of the standings, a nightmarish day for the once-dominant Tyler Reddick saw him drop more than 40 points to Denny Hamlin on the night. The No. 45, who now sits 68 points back from his team owner and just 19 ahead of Ryan Blaney after early contact with Alex Bowman near pit entry ruined his day.
READ MORE: NASCAR Results Today: Denny Hamlin denied by dominant Joey Logano at North Wilkesboro
NASCAR Cup Series standings after North Wilkesboro
| Pos | Driver | Manufacturer | Points (Stage) | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 842 (167) | 4 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota | 774 (151) | 5 | 10 | 13 |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 755 (160) | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 708 (163) | 1 | 9 | 14 |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 634 (96) | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 616 (169) | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| 7 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet | 598 (101) | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | Toyota | 587 (116) | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 9 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 585 (92) | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 574 (132) | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| 11 | Daniel Suárez | Chevrolet | 558 (69) | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 12 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 546 (97) | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 13 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 531 (99) | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 14 | Shane van Gisbergen | Chevrolet | 516 (68) | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 15 | Joey Logano | Ford | 511 (104) | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 495 (98) | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 17 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 462 (41) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | Ryan Preece | Ford | 447 (71) | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 437 (58) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 20 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 412 (33) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 412 (46) | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 397 (56) | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | Ford | 384 (38) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Zane Smith | Ford | 371 (22) | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 25 | Riley Herbst | Toyota | 369 (32) | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 26 | John H. Nemechek | Toyota | 350 (28) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 347 (37) | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 28 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 341 (19) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 292 (28) | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 30 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 259 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Noah Gragson | Ford | 253 (4) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Cole Custer | Chevrolet | 246 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Josh Berry | Ford | 234 (30) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 34 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | 213 (10) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet | 177 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Kevin Magnussen | Chevrolet | 11 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 10 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Jimmie Johnson | Toyota | 9 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Katherine Legge | Chevrolet | 8 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | BJ McLeod | Chevrolet | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
NASCAR TODAY: Carson Hocevar humbled and 855-race driver comes out of retirement
