There will be 16 spots on the grid separating Championship 4 when the green flag flies for the deciding NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday at Phoenix, but everyone is feeling good about their chances.

“Yes,” said Joey Logano of Team Penske when asked if he felt like the championship was his. “I feel like our car is strong. We did a good job in qualifying, we feel strong in our team and we feel really strong in these types of pressure situations. We are simply executing our plan. We had two weeks to come up with our plan; we just need to execute it as best we can now.

Logano’s confidence in the homework the No. 22 team has accomplished heading into this weekend has been bolstered by the fact that he is the most qualified among the title contenders. He will start from second place on the grid after being beaten by Martin Truex Jr.

“I said it all week, I feel like we had the upper hand,” he said. “I feel like we’re in a great situation. Obviously a lot can happen from here, but when you look at what we accomplished today, getting a solid starting spot, that’s something we should be proud of, but it’s also exactly what that we were trying to do. We feel confident. This racing team has been doing this for a long, long time. We feel strong about our situation. When you prepare for what lies ahead, it’s easy to feel confident.

Logano is seeking his third Cup Series crown, while Penske teammate Ryan Blaney looks to add a second to the one he won last year. Blaney triumphed last year from 15th on the grid – experience he can draw on this time around after qualifying the No. 12 Ford 17th.

“Our lap didn’t go well, we just got really free in Turn 1 and blew it and couldn’t really get back,” Blaney said. “Honestly, I was surprised it worked the way it did considering how much I relaxed.

“I think the car is pretty good. It’s always nice to have a decent stand and things like that. We’ll just take it however we can get it tomorrow; try to go through the first few laps, then start moving forward. Pretty similar to last year – hopefully it ends the same way and we can hit the ground running. I think the race car is good enough for us to achieve that.”

Starting roughly halfway between the two title-contending Penskes are their two rivals, led by William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports in eighth.

“I think so,” he said. “It sucks; I just didn’t do the second lap I wanted to do in the second (qualifying) lap, so I’m disappointed with that. I feel really good in our race car, getting first choice in the pits, which is huge. I’m excited about all these things and just put together a good start to the race. It’s such a long race; it will just be a matter of getting to the finish and having what you need there.

Tyler Reddick will be immediately behind him on the starting grid after qualifying the No. 45 Toyota 23XI in 10th position. He endured the most nerve-wracking journey in qualifying of the four contenders after narrowly clinging to a top-five spot in the first round.

“In the first round, obviously, we barely got in; I did just enough there,” he said. “For that second run, I didn’t expect to lose so much lap time on the first lap, and when you’re the first car out, you kind of get confused about what you need to do, and the last one Thing I thought about was that he would lose so much across the board. I really wish I could have this one back.

“We are here with William; Joey is obviously a little further away, but we had a pretty solid day.

Reddick entered qualifying after a disappointing practice session on Friday, but he is optimistic the team has gotten the car to where it needs to be.

“There were times during testing where our car was doing what we wanted it to do,” he said. “Overall, the shooting speed wasn’t really there. We talked about it and made a plan for Sunday. Before the race, I have a good sense of direction on what I need to focus on and what we as a team need to follow on the race car.