CONCORD, N.C. — Nearly every horror movie has a monster that seemingly cannot be slayed. Anytime you think the monster has met its match, it improbably rises back to life to wreak more havoc.

If NASCAR were a horror movie, then Joey Logano is most certainly playing the monster who cannot be toppled. And on Sunday, the competition had every opportunity to deliver a decisive final blow that would’ve knocked out the defending Cup Series champion, who has a knack for rising to the moment. That blow never came.

Instead, Logano, the embodiment of the GIF showing the Undertaker popping up out of the coffin, somehow escaped to advance to the semifinals. There is now a very good chance the seven drivers still racing him for the championship are going to rue the opportunity they missed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, site of Sunday’s Round 2 playoff elimination race in these playoffs.

“We’re a dangerous team,” Logano said. “Anything can happen with us.”

“A championship performance from the team.”

Time and again, @joeylogano finds a way. pic.twitter.com/6RjeFqsuv1

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 5, 2025

Yes, they are dangerous. And also, opportunistic.

Last year, it was Alex Bowman’s car failing inspection that allowed Logano to skirt elimination after Round 2. Had this not happened, Logano would’ve been out. Instead, he went on to win his third championship.

This year, it was a different set of circumstances that Logano and his team capitalized on.

For much of the afternoon Sunday, Ross Chastain’s car was faster than Logano’s as the two battled for the final transfer spot into the semifinal round. Knowing this, Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief, decided to call his driver to pit road for new tires with 11 laps remaining. The thinking was that Logano would then either be able to charge forward enough to pass cars he otherwise wouldn’t, or be well positioned should a late caution come out.

“There at the end, we were at the point where we were probably going to get beat,” Logano said. “Paul did Paul-type things and figured it out and put us in the spot.”

Wolfe’s strategy worked to some degree, as Logano was able to complete passes while Chastain began to backslide due to being on older tires. But by the final lap, Chastain still held a one-point advantage, only to downshift into the wrong gear entering the hairpin corner in Turn 7, causing him to spin and opening the door for Denny Hamlin to slip by.

It was a day filled with mistakes by Chastain, who overshot the exit to pit road, costing him 15 positions, and also sped another time. There were other miscues, too.

Whether on pit road or on the track, one less mistake by Chastain and he surely would be advancing, not Logano. But you cannot beat a monster by being careless. When you have the beast down, you must finish the job. Chastain didn’t.

“It was just unforced errors,” Chastain said. “… I just completely unraveled our day. We definitely had the speed.”

His #NASCARPlayoffs campaign is over.

A valiant effort from @RossChastain, but he will not make it through to the next round. pic.twitter.com/UWLr6zC8Tp

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 5, 2025

But he wasn’t the only one who let Logano off the proverbial mat on Sunday.

Hamlin could’ve opted to remain behind the slower Chastain, conceding a position he didn’t need, allowing Chastain to earn one valuable additional point, and preventing the dangerous Logano from advancing. Wolfe thought that was happening when he saw Hamlin, who was on fresher tires than Chastain, back off upon catching him, prompting Wolfe to say afterwards that he thought Hamlin was attempting to manipulate the finish.

Not so, Hamlin explained as he stood on pit road after a wild ending that saw Chastain get into him, spinning both of them out just short of the checkered, allowing a handful of drivers, including Logano, to sneak past. (Hamlin was already assured of advancing, so where he finished was inconsequential.)

“Truthfully, I wish I would have just known what the last-lap scenario was and then I make the best decision I can for me,” Hamlin said. “No one told me anything. I absolutely had no idea. Truthfully, I didn’t know if I was racing for 25th or 10th. I had no idea of my position.

“I didn’t know (Chastain) was desperate. I wish I would have known.”

Had Hamlin known, who’s to say how he would’ve acted? Based on performance, Chastain’s Trackhouse team has had more speed in its cars than Logano’s Penske team. Outright speed, though, can mask a lot of deficiencies that might have made it hard for Chastain to advance past the semifinals.

The NASCAR championship, however, happens to be settled on the one style of track where Logano and his Penske consistently do have speed: the flat, one-mile oval in Phoenix. The site where he inconceivably stormed to the title a year ago and will be a favorite to repeat should he arrive there in four weeks still title-eligible. There is also the fact that no driver is more battle-tested than Logano, the only full-time active driver with three series championships sitting on his mantel.

It’s fair to wonder whether Hamlin should’ve been more proactive in effectively protecting Chastain to assure his advancement or raced as he did, an impartial bystander who didn’t want to potentially ruin someone else’s chances.

“I would have made the best decision for me,” Hamlin reiterated, not tipping his hand. “I wish I would have known.”

Hindsight is always 20/20, though.

The reality of the situation is that Logano and company did enough to move forward in the playoffs, and now he’ll be a tough out in the next round — despite being 24 points behind the provisional transfer line. Because this is what he and his team do in the playoffs. Despite facing a performance disadvantage, they find a way to overcome.

Sunday was just the latest instance. Yet another example of NASCAR’s movie monster showcasing why, come the playoffs, he should never be counted out.

“Everyone does a good job on this race team of just grinding and fighting and fighting,” Logano said. “We’re just a bunch of fighters and scrappers. I mean, we’re maybe not the fastest car all the time, but we’re a group of scrappers that are able to manufacture some stuff.”

(Top photo of Joey Logano and a backwards Ross Chastain crossing the finish line Sunday in Charlotte: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)