Joey Logano enters the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last in the point standings, 24 points below the cutline of the top four that would qualify for the Championship 4.

That points deficit could change in one race. Logano proved that in last year’s South Point 400.

Logano is the defending race winner at the fall playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That win launched Logano into last year’s Championship 4 and he went on to win the title.

He qualified ninth (29.421 seconds, 183.542 mph) Saturday for Sunday’s South Point 400. The green flag for the first race in the Round of 8, around Las Vegas’ 1½-mile D-shaped oval, is set to drop at 2:30 p.m.

There are plenty of similarities how Logano entered the Round of 8 last year to this year.

He made the round last year after

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