MOTORSPORTS MONDAY - Joey Logano Reigns Supreme in Phoenix
Big time players make big time plays. It’s a perfect description of Joey Logano come Playoff time.
The Team Penske driver became a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion on Sunday by outrunning teammate Ryan Blaney and embracing the biggest moment of the season winning the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe have shown an uncanny ability to rise to the occasion time and time again and pulled off another example on Sunday.
“I told you, I work better under pressure,” Logano said to the assembled media after Sunday’s race on why he’s able to perform in high profile situations. “I’ve got to put pressure on myself, and that’s one of the ways.”
Logano’s crew chief Paul Wolfe recognizes the ability in his driver to achieve success in the most pressure-packed moments the sport can throw his way.
“I mean, that’s Joey,” Wolfe said. “That’s typical Joey. He shows up in the playoffs, and he’s able to handle this pressure better than anyone in the garage, obviously. That’s why he’s a three-time champ now.”
Team owner Roger Penske, who now has three straight Cup titles thanks to Logano and Ryan Blaney, echoes the determination of the driver of the No. 22 Ford. In fact, Logano’s duality of who he is on and off the track is one of the attributes the legendary owner admires most about him.
“I’d go back to his first championship the night before the championship in Homestead, he was at I think one of the stores there handing out turkeys to people that didn’t have what he had,” Penske reminisced about Logano’s 2018 title. “That’s one side of him.
The other side of him when he puts the helmet on, there’s nobody out there that runs harder than he does, and I think that was just him maturing over time and getting the confidence that he could win, and he could race anyone.
“He certainly proved it today, and he has for the last three championships for sure.”
Logano became the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win three or more championships with his 2024 crown. He’s become arguably the toughest out in the current Playoff format that decides the championship and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love the playoffs, I love it man,” Logano said. “What a team, what a Penske battle there at the end. Three of them? That’s truly special.”
IT’S LEGIT, SO QUIT
Logano wasn’t able to relish in his third title for very long before he was met in the media center with questions about the championship’s legitimacy. Understandably Logano bristled at the thought that somehow what he had accomplished was in some way tarnished coming in the elimination style format.
While his regular season wasn’t stellar, Logano’s Nashville win moved him into the Playoffs. He won three times in the post-season at Atlanta, Las Vegas and the Phoenix finale yet Logano is forced to defend his title-winning performance.
RELATED: Joey Logano Doesn't Like Questioning The Legitimacy of 2024 Championship
“So, for someone to say this isn’t real, it’s a bunch of bullshit in my opinion,” Logano said. “That’s wrong. This is something that everyone knows the rules when the season starts. We figured out how to do it the best and figured out how to win. It’s what (Team Penske) has been able to do for the last three years.”
Logano also took a shot at people who keep a running total of how the points would be if the old Latford system was still in play.
“I don’t like people talking that way because if the rules were the old way, we would play it out differently, wouldn’t we?” he said.
It’s a ridiculous argument to think somehow Logano or anyone else that wins under this format is somehow a lesser champion. The entire garage understands the rules of the game from the minute they roll into Daytona to start the season. There are various tentpoles throughout the year when performance is magnified and those who have excelled in the elimination system have all risen to the occasion.
Championships aren’t decided by statistics so using Logano’s overall season average finish of 17 plus or lack of top-five and top-10 finishes in comparison to other drivers is also faulty logic in trying to diminish the accomplishment. It is simply a matter of not what you do but when you do it. Every other driver had the same opportunity and 35 other regulars failed. Complaining the format is unfair or not equitable is nothing more than sour grapes.
THE NAME GAME
There’s no doubt Logano has a lot of detractors around the NASCAR fan base no matter what he does. He’s a polarizing figure who has had more than his share of run-ins with a number of drivers including some of the biggest and most popular names in the sport, which has helped foster distaste from a lot of fans.
It’s probably another reason why there is a palpable outcry about the Playoff system being flawed. It’s interesting how those criticisms were minimal when Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott won the title in 2020. Or even on Saturday when Justin Allgaier claimed his first career Xfinity Series championship despite only winning twice and posting an average finish of just over 13th all season. The NASCAR world was genuinely happy for Allgaier to win his elusive title even though his statistics were far inferior to others in the series.
But Logano will no doubt gladly trade a few more boos from the grandstands in exchange for becoming a three-time champion.
Pete Pistone is a veteran motorsports and general sports reporter/journalist with nearly 30 years experience. During his career he has worked for media outlets such as WGN Radio, The Chicago Sun-Times, Chicagoland Television (CLTV), CBS Sports, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM. Pistone has been with SiriusXM since 2008 and co-hosts “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) with Mike Bagley, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 am ET. He is also the host of “Fantasy Racing Preview,” a weekend show focusing on NASCAR gambling and fantasy racing, which is part of the channel’s NASCAR Cup Series pre-race programming. Additionally, Pistone is a member of the SiriusXM College Sports team as an on-air personality and contributor on Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372). He is one of the hosts of “Big Ten Today” and can also be heard on “Big Ten Whip Around,” a weekly hour-long program spotlighting a variety of sports around the conference. Pistone is also the host of several specials as well as providing a range of digital content for both the NASCAR and Big Ten channels. A Chicago native, Pistone resides in the northern suburbs of the city with his wife and daughter.