The clash between Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin at New Hampshire, followed by Hamlin’s hard-nosed racing against his own driver, Bubba Wallace, in Kansas has reignited a debate about how teammates should race each other. Joey Logano has become the latest driver to weigh in on this subject.
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While Hamlin believes non-playoff drivers should back their playoff teammates, Ryan Blaney had earlier said no team manages intra-squad racing better than Team Penske. Now, Logano, his teammate, has weighed in on the subject.
Ahead of the final race of the Round of 12 at Charlotte Roval, the Penske driver said, “I honestly feel like it’s one of the most challenging relationships that you can ever go through because when you think about other team sports, you’re on the same team. That team wins together. In this case, you’re on the same team, but only one of you gets to win. It gets really confusing.”
Logano added, “One win is good for everybody, and there’s truth to that. I’ve seen that over my years of driving how your perspective changes over the years. When you first come in, it’s me, me, me, me, me, and then you kind of eventually see the big picture, if you do it long enough, how the whole ecosystem is really created and how it is good for everyone to see victory at Team Penske or whatever respective team that may be… It’s just unique. I have never seen anything like it in my time.”
Still, Logano admitted that balance is easier said than done. Only one driver gets the stat, the points, and the paycheck.
While there’s a collective spirit at the shop, each car still has its own crew chief, engineers, and pit crew, creating a fine line between teamwork and competition. He acknowledged it’s a “challenging relationship to navigate,” one often stretched to its limits.
Blaney had noted earlier that Team Penske drivers openly discuss such scenarios before race day to avoid on-track confusion, while Austin Cindric had commented that it’s easiest to race the teammates. Logano echoed that, explaining they try to run through every possible situation and “a lot of what-ifs.”
Over time, familiarity helps smooth things out, but contrary to Cindric’s opinion that racing teammates are easy, Logano asserted that drivers still have to strike the right balance between teamwork and the hunger to race, because fans expect nothing less.
Ultimately, as Logano put it, one teammate better win; that’s the simplest way to look at it. He pointed to last year’s Phoenix finale, where he and Blaney went head-to-head for the title.
That wasn’t just another race; it was a championship battle, fought wheel to wheel, just a car length apart. Yet, both kept it clean, and when the dust settled, Logano walked away with the championship trophy, while Blaney came home second.
