Whatever the criticism against Team Penske’s Joey Logano is, none can deny that he is one of the most skillful drivers on the race track. He fights for every position in every race as though it is his last. This nature is what has made him a Cup Series champion thrice now. But what is it that inspires him to be so relentless? The answer lies in a bad experience he faced over a decade ago.
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Back in 2012, a young Logano was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and piloted the #20 car that Christopher Bell does now. But he was nowhere nearly as successful in it as Bell or his present self. The best driver standings position he could muster up was 16th (2010) in four years with the team. This underwhelming stretch caused him to face sponsorship woes and eventually, Coach Gibbs had to fire him.
Joey Logano with Joe Gibbs racing throwback pic.twitter.com/z0SKqg1Ai4
— Nascarpixtures (@Nascarpixtures) May 11, 2020
It was at this time that Roger Penske identified the talent in him and handed him the keys to the #22 Ford Mustang. Although he has come a long way since then and become one of the greatest drivers in the sport ever, he hasn’t forgotten the pain that he endured when Gibbs sent him his termination letter. The fear of experiencing it again is what forces him to race hard every weekend.
He said in an episode of Rubbin is Racing, “I got fired. I lost my job and that sits in me. I will never forget it. It’s really a motivator to me and not ever wanting to have that feeling again. It’s the worst and you feel this big [gestures small] and you never want that again. So, I always race like that. I’ve always thought that you’re only as good as your last race.”
Logano admits to using a cheat code
Retirement is still some distance away but the 34-year-old has already begun ideating on it. His resilience won’t stop at the sight of his last checkered flag. He admitted when speaking to Kevin Harvick on his podcast recently, “I feel like I hit the cheat code in life being a professional athlete. Like, you know, I didn’t make it in business, I’m a racecar driver, I drive in freaking circles all day long.”
The man loves what he does. He continued about what he would do when the spotlight is taken off him, “What that is, I don’t know, right? Is that in a race team? Maybe. Is it in NASCAR? Maybe. Is it on TV? Maybe. Is it something completely out of the sport, I don’t know.” Whatever the path is, Logano is well aware of how fame fades away when a driver retires and he is ready for it.
However, for now, he still has quite a few gallons of fuel left in his tank. Anyone who has followed him for some time would know that he will already be yearning to answer all the backlash over his 2024 title deservedness with another championship next year.
