A little while ago, Team Penske driver Joey Logano spoke his mind, mentioning how NASCAR fans were spoiled by the level of access they receive. However, his comments were not taken well by several people within the community, and soon a debate emerged regarding the topic. When Logano realized that his comments had sparked off a debate, he spoke up, suggesting that his comments were taken out of context during an episode of the Door Bumper Clear Podcast.
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Not long after, Brett Griffin of the DBC podcast shared his side of the narrative, stating, “I haven’t heard the segment but to speak to this tweet below: Joey does a lot for the fans. There’s no denying that.“
He then clarified, “I was attacking his comment, as the fans have had so much taken from them over the last 10 years. That comment sent me on a long rant. And I hope every driver heard it. I said what I said. P.S. I speak up for drivers a ton, too. And I don’t need clicks. So whoever said that is uninformed, uneducated or whatever you wanna call it.”
I haven’t heard the segment but to speak to this tweet below:
Joey does a lot for the fans. There’s no denying that.
I was attacking his comment, as the fans have had so much taken from them over the last 10 years. That comment sent me on a long rant. And I hope every driver… https://t.co/ZHHnacPTkG
— Brett Griffin (@SpotterBrett) December 23, 2023
Griffin feels positive about returning to the good ol’ days of fan access in NASCAR
Soon after Griffin reacted to Logano’s recent comments, another discussion spiraled out of Griffin’s comments. One fan mentioned that in the past, drivers used to spend a significant amount of time meeting with fans outside of the racetrack. He reminisced about meeting drivers multiple times a year in various locations around PA, during the 1990s.
While some drivers still engage in this type of community outreach, it is not as prevalent as it was in the past.
Because sponsors activated utilizing drivers. The sport activated utilizing drivers.
It’s not hard to get back to that at all. But someone is gonna have to pony up and spend some money. https://t.co/CZPwhTKg5M
— Brett Griffin (@SpotterBrett) December 23, 2023
Responding to the talk about drivers reducing the community outreach over time, Griffin stated that the reason was, “Because sponsors activated utilizing drivers. The sport activated utilizing drivers.”
Despite the current state of affairs with the fan access, Griffin showed optimism that things could get back to the way it was before, that it’s not hard to get back to that “at all.”
However, he did mention that in order to do that, someone will have to “pony up” and spend some money.
