Joey Logano, a driver for Team Penske, won his third championship on Sunday, November 10, 2024, at the Phoenix Raceway. He recently shared his thoughts on the topic in an interview with NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass, but fans were not impressed and criticized Logano’s response. The 2024 Cup Series champion won four races during the season, three of which came in the final phase, which sparked criticism of the playoff format. Notably, Logano advanced to the round of eight after Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman failed a post-race inspection. Logano took advantage of the opportunity and won the championship.
Bob Pockrass asked Joey Logano in a recent interview how he felt about the backlash he received following his third title win the previous year. In an amusing response, the Team Penske driver stated: “To tell the truth, Bob, my trophies are the reason I can’t hear well. It’s kind of amazing how they reverberate around me, making it impossible for me to hear them.” Fans, however, were unimpressed with the response and criticized him once more. “It’s Rogers 9 billion dollars,” a fan wrote. “Roger’s check to Nascar cleared, and then after he won the 24 hours, he was able to get Joey those ear implants he’s been needing to match his hair plugs,” wrote someone in support of him in the interim.
The following further remarks were critical of Logano’s answer to Pockrass’ query: “He doesn’t deserve any, he completely destroyed championships in Nascar, because of how bad and undeserved his are,” a user on X commented. “I would remind him daily. #FakeChamp,” a motorsports enthusiast wrote. “That was really awkward. One user recommended Joey Logano as the person Champ needs @HeymanHustle to cut promos for him. “That’s exactly correct. A NASCAR fan said, “There is no way that a guy who finished 15th in the year-end standings should win the championship 🤷♂️ That’s f**kin ridiculous.” In the last circuits of the Championship race, Logano passed his teammate and previous Cup Series winner Ryan Blaney to win his third championship. In the end, Blaney trailed Logano by just five points.
Joey Logano defended the NASCAR playoff structure after being criticized. Top drivers, like Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports last season, have found the current playoff format to be harsh. He was excluded from the Championship Four race even though he finished the season with the most victories (six). Conversely, Joey Logano managed to advance and win the championship title in spite of a sluggish start. Logano justified the format by using an example from another sport, but fans blasted the regulatory body for it. He stated: “The playoff structure was left unchanged, which is the only reason they don’t say this about other sports.
However, this is not all that different from other sports or the playoffs. You are able to have a great regular season. It sees you better for the playoffs, right? Now, that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to go all the way to Super Bowl or to Stanley Cup finals or to NBA finals. It doesn’t matter.” Joey Logano concluded that the NASCAR playoff format provides a fair opportunity for every driver on the grid to compete for a spot in the Championship Four race.
