Joey Logano has faced criticism since winning the 2024 Championship with an average finish of 17.11. More pointedly, NASCAR has been in the crosshairs of fan discontent for not revising the playoff format that, in their view, crowned an undeserving champion like Logano. Nevertheless, Logano finds no fault with NASCAR’s current setup.
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Speaking ahead of the Daytona 500, Logano defended both his championship and the playoff structure, asserting, “If you can’t produce in the playoffs well sorry you didn’t do good enough. Like what do you want me to do? Like you want to change the rules because you didn’t do good enough when the pressure was on? That’s the dumbest crap I’ve ever heard, like just pisses me off.”
He went on to draw a parallel between NASCAR’s playoffs and the NFL’s postseason system, noting that just as the NFL recently entered its playoffs, the performance during the regular season doesn’t guarantee postseason success, despite the initial advantages teams may have.
According to him, the principle is the same in NASCAR: the teams and the drivers earned an advantage in the regular season but could not convert it into success in the playoffs. Hence it is, in no way, NASCAR format’s or Logano’s fault. The Team Penske driver indicated that if competitors maintain consistency throughout the regular season but falter during the playoffs, they have no grounds to label the playoffs as unfair.
Although, he admitted his desire to see the final races of the playoffs rotated to various locations. But beyond that, Logano recognized that while he generally considers fan feedback, he finds it challenging to entertain differing views regarding the playoff structure.
He expressed, “Sometimes you feel so strongly about something you can’t see the other side.” Likening to religious and political beliefs, he said that one believes in it so much that they just can’t see the other side make any sense at all. And that’s where he is at with NASCAR’s playoff system: “I can’t see where this is not great I just don’t see.”
It would be interesting to gather the perspectives of Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin on Logano’s remarks, especially since they have previously voiced support for making adjustments to the playoff system.
