Joey Logano has been spending the days after his third Cup Series championship victory basking in the light of glory. He won the season finale in Phoenix following an excellent display of defensive abilities to keep his contenders at bay.
Advertisement
With the trophy for his hard work safe and secure, he was at the New York Post Sports studio recently to explain what being a three-time champion felt like.
He said, “Your goal every time the season starts is one goal. It’s not to win a certain number of races. It’s to win the championship. That’s the only thing that matters. I don’t care how we get there as long as we get there and you don’t know you got it until the very very end.” The grind is what causes heavy emotion when crossing the finish line as a champion.
But it isn’t all nice and fun immediately after crossing it. He continued, “For us [drivers], it’s weird cuz you’re in the race car. So, you’re by yourself, right? Kind of sucks for a minute but then when you get out of the car and you see your team, your family, your friends, and people that were there for you the whole way, right? That is where it hits you hard.”
It certainly was a special experience for him to be in that spot for the third time. What made it even more so was that all three of his children were at the track for the first time together to watch him be crowned as the champion.
He noted how the memories, the photos, and the videos are what matter at the end of the day more than the cool trophy that he got from NASCAR.
Why does Logano keep repeating that he doesn’t “care” how a championship is won?
The No. 22 driver’s title is perhaps one of the most controversial ones in recent memory. Large sections of the fandom have been accusing NASCAR of using a faulty playoff format that let drivers with subpar performances throughout the season compete for the title in the playoffs.
Logano is one of those drivers from one too many points of view. He scraped through the playoff rounds multiple times on luck yet managed to win the title. Drivers with far better numbers than him couldn’t even find themselves a seat in the Championship 4 race.
All the criticisms about his victory being “undeserved” are what have caused him to defend himself in the post-season interviews. He has also been advocating the format heavily. However, reports have been emerging that NASCAR is currently considering changes to the system. Can Logano win another championship in an altered playground? Time will tell.
