Joey Logano winning the 2024 Cup Series championship has left a sour taste in the mouths of several fans. The overwhelming consensus is that he doesn’t deserve to be champion since he’d underperformed throughout the majority of the season and got his name on the title only because of the supposedly faulty playoff format. Despite all the criticism, the Team Penske driver finds a man in his corner.
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The former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace discussed the affair on his YouTube channel recently while sipping coffee at his home and courageously backed the format and the champion that it churned out at Phoenix on Sunday.
More importantly, he also explained why he thinks Logano deserves the title more than Kyle Larson does, an opinion that will have a lot of cynics.
He said, “When the playoffs started they started with 16 cars, Joey Logano’s average finish that you all talk about was good enough to put him in this top 16. He struggled his way and as the playoffs went on he got better.”
“But what happened was the opposite for Kyle Larson. As the playoffs went on, he didn’t do as good. As these playoffs are a set of rules, Logano played by them and he got better.”
Wallace’s point was that Larson’s six wins did not matter at the end of the day since he couldn’t hold himself up in the playoffs. He continued to speak about how the promotion “recedes” drivers in every round and that those usually at the top, like Larson, get a massive points advantage that is theirs to lose. The No. 5 driver lost his and Logano gained them — case finished.
Wallace defends the current playoff system
The 61-year-old continued to express his thoughts on why NASCAR’s playoff format is even better than that of other popular sports. Again, an opinion that is bound to instigate arguments.
He said, “They run every three races and if you don’t do good you get spit out. That’s pretty good. All other sports, they play one game and if you don’t do good, you get spit out.”
“Then they play another game and if you don’t do good, you get spit out. This is the only sport that gives you this much of a chance.” He declared that if a driver can’t do good in three races and qualify himself for the next round, he probably doesn’t deserve to stay in the title race.
Logano’s success is a good mixture of opportunity and preparation. He strictly played by the rules of the system and did not cross any lines to get his third title. So, regardless of what the noise is or where it comes from, his name is already up on the mantle and it will stay there for the next year.
