“Created a Lot of Drama”: Joey Logano on NASCAR’s Controversial Playoff Structure

Nilavro Ghosh | 30/07/2024
NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) on pit road prior to qualifying for the Ambetter Health

There has been a lot of debate over the current playoff structure since its inception in 2014. Many feel that this system often does not allow the best driver in a season to fight for the title if they have only a couple of bad races. However, former Cup Series champion Joey Logano has no problem with the playoff structure. After all, he has gone through it twice to win the championship.

The Team Penske star reached the championship race in the first year this system was implemented. He might have been one of the youngest Cup Series champions had it not been for Kevin Harvick winning the final race in Miami.

Speaking to the media recently, Logano said that he would not change anything about the playoffs at the moment. He also said that it made NASCAR a lot like other sports where losing in the playoffs resulted in elimination.

“It has created a lot of drama in our sport,” he said. “If it’s lasted this long, I don’t see anything about it that I would change at this point. I think it’s just like any other sport now. You can have an incredible regular season and still lose the first game of the playoffs and be out. Well, the same thing happens here.”

When it comes to other global motorsports, the person who accumulates the most points wins the championship. However, that can often make the ending of a season boring if there is one dominant driver throughout. In NASCAR, doing well in the regular season gets a driver crucial playoff points but nothing guarantees a title win until the last race of the year.

Why does Denny Hamlin dislike the playoffs?

Not everyone is a fan of the playoff structure like Logano. Denny Hamlin had revealed earlier that he does not like the current playoff structure. The Joe Gibbs Racing star believes that the main title battle comes down to only one race in which anything can happen, something that does not reward consistency and leads to luck playing a bigger role.

“The reason I don’t love it coming down to one race is that racing is a sport where luck is involved,” he said. When you’re competing in a championship in any other sport, it’s one on one your team versus the other team. The difference in NASCAR’s it’s one against three. But there’s 33 other guys out there that can completely screw up your day.”

The driver of the #11 car is reaching the end of his career in the sport and will be desperate to win at least one Cup Series title before hanging up his boots. If the championship-deciding race comes down to luck and he is in the mix, the veteran will hope to be on the right side of it.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
Denny Hamlin Joey Logano Kevin Harvick

About the author

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Nilavro Ghosh

Nilavro is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. His love for motorsports began at a young age with F1 and spread out to other forms of racing like NASCAR and Moto GP. After earning his post-graduate degree from the Asian College of Journalism in 2020, he has mostly worked as a motorsports journalist. Apart from covering racing, his passion lies in making music primarily as a bass player.

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