Joey Logano embraced change heading into the 2026 season. Not only did he bid farewell to the infamous playoff format that helped him win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, but he also bid farewell to his hair.
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Back in early 2023, Logano, who struggles with alopecia, had turned heads in the other direction, showing up at the opener with a full head of hair after what many suspected was a restoration move. Nothing was confirmed, of course. And then, in November 2025, after the season wrapped, the three-time Cup champion sported a clean-shaven head.
Speaking about it ahead of the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Logano said, “My hair journey. It don’t grow no more. I have, I don’t know what you call it, an autoimmune things called Alopecia, so randomly I get these spots where hair doesn’t grow and then it comes back, so I had another flair up and I was like, ‘Well, screw it. I’m just shaving it all off’ and I just did that. It’s just easier.”
At this point, the Team Penske driver has made peace with the mirror. It may have caught some people off guard, but he has settled into it. In fact, Logano says, “It’s very refreshing, I will say. You can do this haircut at home (laughing). I gave my son the clippers and said, ‘Have at it’ because I figured he would have fun doing that, my oldest. I just said, ‘Here, have fun.’”
Logano also spoke about the backing he got at home. When his wife walked in, she told him to do what felt right and said she was on board with whatever kept him at ease.
It might have taken some grit to lose it all in one go, but when another alopecia flare-up hit, Logano read the writing on the wall. The path of least resistance was to shave it off, and he went with his gut without overthinking it. Only later did it sink in, when messages started pouring in asking if he was doing okay.
He knows the chatter has been loud. At first, it flew under his radar. But then came a spin in his shifter kart at his home track. With air vents up top, he finally noticed what they do once the hair is gone. Suddenly, it clicked for him. Unless the weather dips, in which case the breeze cuts both ways.
It has been a shift, no two ways about it. But on the bright side, his beanie game has stepped up.
