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Joey Logano Clarifies Why His ‘Win at All Costs’ Mentality Does Not Make Him a Bad Person

Jerry Bonkowski
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Mar 2, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) during qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Three-time NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano wants everyone to know he’s not a bad person just because he has a ‘Win at All Costs’ Mentality.

The Team Penske driver told the ‘Stacking Pennies’ podcast on Wednesday that he’s really a good guy. But that personality changes the moment he gets behind the wheel.

And there’s a very good reason for that — and it’s what’s led to Logano earning three Cup championships since 2018, and 37 career Cup wins.

It’s all about his competitive drive, which is mainly seen inside a race car, but also in other parts of his life that are not racing-related.

It’s almost as if Logano flips a switch once his motor comes to life and he starts chasing lap after lap, trying to get the checkered flag.

“Yeah, I just think it’s there,” Logano said. “I just want to win really bad, I don’t want to lose really bad. I think that’s really what it is because the pain of loss is far worse than the victory. It’s true, at least for me.

“When I go out there, I’m like I’m here to win, and there’s nothing. And I’m like that in everything I do. If it’s business I’m like, ‘Yep, we’re out to kill, we’re going to knock them all out of business.’ That’s what it’s like, that’s the goal, it’s to win at all costs, that’s what we’re going to do.”

But really, Logano deep inside is a very caring, religious, and loving individual, particularly to his wife and kids.

“You can have that attitude and not be a bad person,” Logano mentioned. “I think you can still be competitive, but I think you have to be able to go home at the end of the day and be like a normal person, like be a good dad, be a good Christian, be a good husband.

“I also want to be the best at that. It’s a hard balance, but if the goal is just to be the best, period, in everything you do, then it’s pretty simple; it actually simplifies it a little bit.

“Like if you go home, be the best dad you can be at that moment, or the best husband you can be at that moment, and when you go to work, be the best race car driver at that moment. … Let’s try to make it the best or just continue growing it at least with consistent growth,” the Team Penske driver concluded.

Post Edited By:Srijan Mandal

About the author

Jerry Bonkowski

Jerry Bonkowski

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Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran sportswriter who has worked full-time for many of the top media outlets in the world, including USA Today (15 years), ESPN.com (4+ years), Yahoo Sports (4 1/2 years), NBCSports.com (8 years) and others. He has covered virtually every major professional and collegiate sport there is, including the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships (including heavy focus on Michael Jordan), the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX-winning season, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs World Series championships, two of the Chicago Blackhawks' NHL titles, Tiger Woods' PGA Tour debut, as well as many years of beat coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA for USA Today. But Jerry's most notable achievement has been covering motorsports, most notably NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drag racing and Formula One. He has had a passion for racing since he started going to watch drag races at the old U.S. 30 Dragstrip (otherwise known as "Where the Great Ones Run!") in Hobart, Indiana. Jerry has covered countless NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA races and championship battles over the years. He's also the author of a book, "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates", published in 2010 (and he's hoping to soon get started on another book). Away from sports, Jerry was a fully sworn part-time police officer for 20 years, enjoys reading and music (especially "hair bands" from the 1980s and 1990s), as well as playing music on his electric keyboard, driving (fast, of course!), spending time with Cyndee his wife of nearly 40 years, the couple's three adult children and three grandchildren (with more to come!), and his three dogs -- including two German Shepherds and an Olde English Bulldog who thinks he's a German Shepherd.. Jerry still gets the same excitement of seeing his byline today as he did when he started in journalism as a 15-year-old high school student. He is looking forward to writing hundreds, if not thousands, of stories in the future for TheSportsRush.com, as well as interacting with readers.

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