Joey Logano rallies late for first top-10 finish of season

Joey Logano had been on the wrong side of history coming into Sunday's race at Martinsville.

The three-time Cup Series champion's average finish (18.8) was the third-worst for a defending champion through six races in series history, only trailing NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte (2001) and Kyle Larson (2022), according to the Fox broadcast.

On top of that, Logano was one of four defending Cup Series champions without a top five through six races. In fact, he did not have a single top 10 finish prior to Sunday's Cook Out 400.

Logano won Stage 1 and led 13 laps but got spun around by Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe while running inside the top 10 with 74 laps to go.

During the final 75-lap green-flag run to the finish, Logano drove his way through the field and rallied to an eighth-place finish to put an end to his historically bad start to the season.

It has not been for a lack of speed for Logano. The 34-year-old has led laps in five of the seven races this season. He has qualified in the top five three times, and his Stage 1 win on Sunday once again proved the speed is evident in the No. 22 Ford.

After finally getting a top-10 finish — his 12th straight top 10 at Martinsville — expect Logano to take advantage and more positive results to follow.