Joey Logano has long drawn a firm line in the sand when it comes to safeguarding his family’s peace. He has consistently made it clear that once he steps into his home life, racing takes a back seat — unless, of course, the call comes directly from Roger Penske himself.
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That boundary is non-negotiable. So, when NASCAR decided to revive Easter Sunday racing in a bid to capture holiday viewership, Logano didn’t mince words about where he stood, given he wanted to spend time with his family.
He remarked, “Not a big fan of racing on Easter. I feel like that’s a very special day, a day that’s equally as big as Christmas, if not bigger, so I’m not crazy about it.
“I also understand where it makes a lot of sense for a sport to do it. But it’s different than other sports. When other sports compete on holidays, it’s a couple of teams here and a couple of teams there. This is 40 teams,” he added.
Acknowledging that at least, “I’ll have my family with me so that’s good,” he showed his displeasure, stating, “It’s going to be a lot different Easter than what we’re used to.” Yet, “Having a church service for industry, I think that part is good.” The change in tradition clearly weighed on him.
In 2025, however, NASCAR seemed to take a page from Logano’s playbook, opting to skip Easter weekend after three consecutive years of scheduling a race on the holy day — first at Bristol Motor Speedway and then at Richmond Raceway in 2024.
Despite being in contention, Logano couldn’t seal the deal on either occasion. His best showing came last year when he finished runner-up to Denny Hamlin at Richmond. But for Joey Logano, the checkered flag on Easter has always belonged to his family, not the racetrack — and this year, he finally gets to celebrate it on his own terms.
Why did NASCAR suddenly decide to race on Easter in 2022?
Since NASCAR’s first season in 1949, Easter had traditionally served as a built-in breather — an intentional pause in the long grind of a 36-to-38-race calendar. However, in 2022, NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy broke from convention, partnering with FOX to roll the dice on a Sunday night primetime race under the lights at dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway, aiming to reel in a broader television audience.
Kennedy reasoned that if leagues like the NFL and NBA could pack stadiums and dominate screens on Thanksgiving and Christmas, NASCAR, too, could turn Easter Sunday into a marquee event.
He emphasized that while the sport values family time, scheduling the race for later in the evening allowed fans to enjoy Easter celebrations and still cap the night off at the racetrack.
Now, with NASCAR opting for a breather this Easter, all eyes will be on which drivers return recharged and ready to go full throttle, just as Kyle Busch did last season when he stormed back from the two-week Olympic break to deliver exceptional performances.
