Legitimacy (li-jit-uh-muh-see) noun. The state or quality of being legitimate.
Synonyms: rightfulness, lawfulness, legality
That's a word that has been used a lot since Sunday evening, when Joey Logano earned his third NASCAR Cup Series championship by outrunning three other title contenders to win the race and the title at Phoenix Raceway. Spoken so much so, that the 34-year-old future first-ballot Hall of Famer was asked about it shortly after he had earned two trophies in one night to become only the 10th driver in NASCAR's 76-year history to become a three-time series champion.