Joey Logano building momentum toward fourth NASCAR title

Stop me if you've heard this before: Joey Logano is heating up in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. 

It's the same song fans have been used to hearing from Logano throughout his NASCAR career. Regardless of how the No. 22 Team Penske group performs in the regular season, Logano is always good for at least one or two standout performances in the playoffs — and so far, three championship runs. 

Joey Logano made progress toward title at New Hampshire

Whether or not a fourth championship comes to fruition is yet to be decided, but Logano took a major step forward in his title hunt on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 

Logano entered Sunday's Mobil 1 301 11th on the playoff grid, two points below the Round of 12 cut line. After a stellar showing on Sunday in which the defending champion won Stage 2, led the most laps (147) and finished fourth, he's sixth, 24 points to the good. That's a 26-point swing over the course of one afternoon. 

It was another clutch performance from the future Hall of Famer when he desperately needed one. 

"We've got three top-fives in a row; it seems like the team is hitting its stride," Logano told USA Network. "Everyone is doing what they need to do. Just need to get a little bit faster." 

Kansas (Sept. 28) and the Charlotte Roval (Oct. 5) are the two remaining races in the Round of 12, and if Logano can survive them, he'll still be alive in the hunt for his fourth NASCAR Cup Series crown.