CONCORD, N.C. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019ve knocked out the defending Cup Series champion, who has a knack for rising to the moment<\/a>. That blow never came.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Round 2 playoff elimination race in these playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a dangerous team,\u201d Logano said. \u201cAnything can happen with us.\u201d<\/p>\n “A championship performance from the team.”<\/p>\n Time and again, @joeylogano<\/a> finds a way. pic.twitter.com\/6RjeFqsuv1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Yes, they are dangerous. And also, opportunistic.<\/p>\n Last year, it was Alex Bowman\u2019s car failing inspection<\/a> that allowed Logano to skirt elimination after Round 2. Had this not happened, Logano would\u2019ve been out. Instead, he went on to win his third championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year, it was a different set of circumstances that Logano and his team capitalized on.<\/p>\n For much of the afternoon Sunday, Ross Chastain\u2019s car was faster than Logano\u2019s as the two battled for the final transfer spot into the semifinal round. Knowing this, Paul Wolfe, Logano\u2019s 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\u2019t, or be well positioned should a late caution come out.<\/p>\n \u201cThere at the end, we were at the point where we were probably going to get beat,\u201d Logano said. \u201cPaul did Paul-type things and figured it out and put us in the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Wolfe\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just unforced errors,\u201d Chastain said. \u201c\u2026 I just completely unraveled our day. We definitely had the speed.\u201d<\/p>\n His #NASCARPlayoffs<\/a> campaign is over.<\/p>\n A valiant effort from @RossChastain<\/a>, but he will not make it through to the next round. pic.twitter.com\/UWLr6zC8Tp<\/a><\/p>\n