Joey Logano may consider himself a polar opposite of Denny Hamlin, but in reality they could easily be one and the same person. At 44 years old, Hamlin is the oldest active full-time driver on the NASCAR Cup circuit. But at an age when most drivers have retired or are getting close to it, Hamlin just seems to be getting better and faster.
Advertisement
At 35, Logano is nine years younger than Hamlin and has 37 career Cup wins, compared to Hamlin’s 57 victories. But Logano has something that Hamlin doesn’t have: namely a Cup championship. Or to add insult to injury for Hamlin, Logano has not one, not two, but three Cup championships, including two in the last three seasons.
However, the way Hamlin is performing, if Logano is to earn a fourth Cup championship this season, he’s definitely going to have to get by Hamlin to do so. While Hamlin’s No. 1 goal is to earn that elusive first Cup championship, Logano takes things in stride. He’s been that way ever since he entered the Cup ranks 17 years ago.
“My goals are very short-term goals all the time. I know some people like having some goals that sit out there a long ways, but mine are simple. It’s, win the championship and win the next race. What else does it have to be?” Logano said Saturday prior to that evening’s race in ‘Hotlanta’.
“And where the stats end up, they’ll end up from there. I’ve never had a number that I was trying to reach or anything like that. I just want to win what I can win today and I’ll focus on tomorrow when that happens.”
Logano, who started Saturday night’s race from the pole — the 32nd of his Cup career — then drew a comparison between himself and Hamlin. “I’m not saying the way (Hamlin) does it is wrong, I like the long-term plan on a lot of things, but on this one I’m looking at the hood pins,” he added.
Logano entered Saturday night’s race at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) 10th in the Cup standings, while Hamlin is in third. Logano had one win through the first 17 races heading into Saturday night, while Hamlin has three.
Hamlin would never trade his three Daytona 500 wins for a Cup crown
While Logano has more Cup championships, Hamlin has three Daytona 500 wins to just one for Logano. Even if it means he never wins a Cup championship, it’s something Hamlin wouldn’t trade.
After all, there are several drivers who’ve had great Cup careers and even won the Great American Race at least once — but have never won a Cup championship. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is right at the top of the list, never having won even one title, while his late father is tied with Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson for most Cup titles with seven each.
Other greats that never won a title include Mark Martin, Junior Johnson, Carl Edwards, Davey Allison, Ricky Rudd, Curtis Turner, Fred Lorenzen, Jim Paschal and Jeff Burton. In all honesty, not a bad list to be a part of.
