This obscure stat should give Joey Logano fans hope despite abysmal 2024 start

Joey Logano's struggles to begin the 2024 season have been well documented. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion only has one top 20 finish this season, a ninth-place run at Las Vegas. 

Logano currently sits 26th in points, 48 points back of Kyle Busch for the final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. It's been over a year since his last win, and he was eliminated in the first round of the Cup Series playoffs last season. 

Despite the rough start to Logano's season, there is one statistic that should give his fans hope that he can turn it around — since the inception of NASCAR's championship race in 2014, Logano has never missed the Championship Four in an even numbered year. 

Here are Logano's points finishes in even-numbered years since 2014:

2014: Fourth

2016: Second

2018: First

2020: Third

2022: First

Logano's average points finish in those five years is an unheard of 2.2. However, in even numbered years, his performance noticeably drops off, and despite being close a few times, he has never made the Championship Four in an odd-numbered year. 

2015: Sixth

2017: 17th (missed playoffs)

2019: Fifth

2021: Eighth

2023: 12th 

Why is this the case for Logano? Nobody knows. It may just be an obscure stat, but it's been so consistent that it's hard to discount it completely. 

As hard as it is to picture Logano in the Championship Four this year, history says there's a 100% chance that he makes it. 

A turnaround for Logano is unlikely to begin this weekend at Circuit of The Americas, but he's a previous winner at Richmond, Martinsville, Texas and Talladega, all tracks that appear on the schedule in the next month. He's also a winner at both Kansas and Darlington, the two tracks that kick off the month of May for the Cup Series. 

So have hope, Joey Logano fans — the season might be off to a horrendous start, but this one obscure statistic shows that there is no doubt that Logano will be fighting for a championship come Nov. 10.