Joey Logano has won three NASCAR Cup championships, including two of the last three, has 37 career Cup wins — and he doesn’t turn 35 until May 24. Yet for some reason, he still hasn’t been able to figure out, in over 15 years on the Cup circuit, why he continues to get booed by NASCAR fans.
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Sure, some of it could be jealousy over what Logano has accomplished thus far in his career. It could also be that he’s not afraid to speak his mind, which can come back to bite him, such as his profanity-laden rant against teammate (and eventual race winner) Austin Cindric two weeks ago at Talladega.
Whatever the reason — and there are likely many more than the examples just pointed out — Logano seems to have gotten used to being the driver NASCAR fans love to hate — NASCAR’s villain, if you will.
“I wish I knew,” Logano told SpeedFreaks after his win this past Sunday at Texas when asked why he is still booed. “I mean I guess some of it is probably how I started my career. I made some mistakes on the way I handled things. I think some of that has carried over for a long time.
“Outside of that, I don’t know. I don’t put on a façade, like this is me, right? And I think it’s confusing to people who see me smile and laugh and then race hard.
“I don’t think people understand how you can flip a switch like that and it comes (across) like I’m not genuine. I think that’s some of it, maybe. I’ve tried to figure it out because I’d rather people not hate me — and there’s a lot of people that don’t — don’t get me wrong.”
The most important thing for Logano is respect from fellow drivers and people in the motorsports industry.
“Really, what matters to me, the industry people is probably the most because those are the ones that know me as a person in the garage or your family or team,” Logano said.
He went on to add, “Not that I don’t care about what the fans think and I do, but they don’t know me. They’ve never really met me or talked to me that much. So you kind of got to take it with a grain of salt. It does frustrate me at times but it is what it is. I can’t change that too much.
“I just keep being myself and there is a lot of great (car no.) 22 fans out there, a lot of them. It’s just for whatever reason, boos are louder than cheers, and I think people love to hate people. Hate is too big in our society but people love to do that stuff.
“I mean, people can go on social media, more people complain than give compliments. You can do that in the work environment too, people complain more than they give compliments on anything right, so it’s just the world we live in I think.”
Two other guys who were booed a lot in their careers
In a way, the three-time champ is reminiscent of another multiple Cup champion who was a beloved fan favorite — but also the victim of countless boos during his career, particularly due to his rivalry with the late Dale Earnhardt.
Of course, we’re talking about NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, now the No. 2 man in charge at Hendrick Motorsports.
Another guy who tangled with Logano a number of times in his own racing career — also a target of boos numerous times in his own career — is Kevin Harvick.
On this week’s edition of Happy Hour With Kevin Harvick, the former Cup champion commiserated with Logano’s frustration at being booed so much, even to this day.
“I think a lot of that comes from the first part of his career and just the run-ins and situations and some of the timing of some of his comments and things that he said,” Harvick said of Logano.
“But none of that bothers him anymore. He is so confident in his ability and his team’s ability to overcome things and do things. He’s not shy about commenting on controversial things or situations or somebody else or whatever that is,” Harvick added. Judging by the success Joey Logano has had so far, it does feel that the boos just fuel his hunger to win on track.
