Joey Logano wants NASCAR to keep the current playoff system unchanged. Well, wouldn’t you say the same after you’ve won three NASCAR Cup championships in the last seven years, and are still in the hunt for potentially a fourth crown this year, which would be his second title in a row and third in the last four years?
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Given all that, do you really think Logano would want to see NASCAR change the current playoff format or completely eliminate it and revert to the old system, where the driver earning the most points in all 36 races of the season is crowned Cup champion?
“The playoffs create drama, it creates storylines, it creates awesome moments like that,” Logano said with a smile almost as wide as his home state of Connecticut.
The reason Logano was so happy? He finished just high enough—20th—and with just enough points to advance to the Round of Eight semifinals that start Sunday in Las Vegas. Had he finished 21st, he would have likely not advanced to the next round.
Sure, he may head to Sin City ranked last of the eight semifinalists, but if past experience is any indicator, Logano could very well be on his way to earning that fourth Cup championship in similar fashion as he did all of the other three.
You know: coming from behind in the pack to emerge No. 1 after the final checkered flag falls in the season finale a month from now in Phoenix.
“I don’t understand what people don’t like about (the playoffs),” Logano said. “I really don’t get it. And if you’re one of those people who say the regular season doesn’t matter or that playoffs don’t matter, humph! One point would have been the difference there [of him not advancing to the Round of Eight].
“I preach that all the time, I’m not just saying because it works for us, I’m saying it’s because it’s true. One point was the difference there, that’s real drama. If you don’t have cut-off races and things like that, what do you talk about today, how Shane [winner Shane van Gisbergen] waxed everybody’s butt? Is that what you want?
“I just think this playoff format is just wicked.”
Different Questions, Same Answer Applies
Although he was asked more so about the last lap incident between Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain, Logano’s response also fits the message if his critics will say Logano has taken advantage of the system to have earned his three Cup crowns to date.
“Desperate people will do desperate things,” he said. “It makes you question your morals plenty of times; it’s hard to do it. It’s kind of like, what are you willing to do?”
