Jimmie Johnson Showers Joey Logano With High Praise, Cites Importance of Timing in NASCAR

Neha Dwivedi | 11/11/2024
(L-R) NASCAR Cup Series drivers Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano.

Joey Logano’s victory at Phoenix catapulted him into the elite ranks of drivers with at least three NASCAR Cup Championship wins. While Logano has a way to go to match Johnson’s seven titles, the owner of Legacy Motor Club was quick to praise the Team Penske driver for mastering the challenging Next Gen car.

Reflecting on his own performance after his ninth and final race of the season at Phoenix, where he placed 26th starting from 23rd, Johnson remarked in his post-race interview, “It’s impressive in this format it is so tough to make the playoffs and to go rounds and put yourself in position. So, hats off to him and that team it’s just extremely impressive.”

He attributed Logano’s success not just to his innate talent, but also to the timing of his team’s performance. According to the Legacy Motor Club racing team owner,

“He’s [Logano] in that highest percentile of talent… We see it year in and year out his abilities his drive, his focus, his performance. And then a lot of it has to do with timing, and timing of your manufacturer, timing of your team. A track that’s strong for you and we certainly know this track has been strong for Penske and Ford over the last couple of years,” opined the former Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Meanwhile, it’s been a challenging season for Legacy Motor Club, as none of its drivers managed to break into the playoffs. John Hunter Nemechek, behind the wheel of the #42, only secured four top-10 finishes, with his teammate Erik Jones just barely finishing two races in the top-10 and one in the top-5.

Johnson shares an update on his itinerary for 2025

The Hall of Famer, Johnson, took the wheel in nine Cup races this season — his busiest schedule since retiring from full-time racing — including races at Daytona, Texas, Dover, Kansas, Charlotte, Indianapolis, a second showing at Kansas, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Despite his efforts, breaking into the top 26 has eluded him in these recent outings.

Looking ahead, Johnson shared his plans for the coming year, “Yep, I’ll definitely be in the car next year, just don’t know how many (races)… Still to be determined! Talking with Carvana now. Looks like we’ll have at least a couple of races with them and we should have that out here pretty soon.”

In other team news, Erik Jones is set to continue his tenure driving the esteemed #43 Toyota Camry XSE for the 2025 NASCAR season and beyond. Meanwhile, the future remains uncertain for Nemechek’s ride in 2025.

Post Edited By: Rahul Ahluwalia
Jimmie Johnson Joey Logano NASCAR Cup Series

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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