Joey Logano embracing role as sport’s leader as defending champion

For the third time in seven seasons, Joey Logano bears the honor of being the defending champion of the NASCAR Cup Series.

At age 34, Logano is a wily veteran who has been fortunate enough to represent the sport as its leading voice twice prior. Full-time in NASCAR’s top series since 2009 — now 16 years ago — the Connecticut native has a better comprehension of the magnitude of the responsibility that comes with being the drivers’ top representative.

“I guess I’m more comfortable in the position and understand the opportunity that’s ahead of us as the champion,” Logano said Nov. 22 ahead of the 2024 NASCAR Awards. “There’s a lot of opportunity to take advantage of, whether it’s with the media, growing our sport, growing our race team. … But you don’t want to just waste the opportunity because you don’t know if you’ll ever have it again, right? And they’re really hard to come by. So being the current champion comes with a lot of responsibility, and you don’t want to waste that.”

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Logano has long embraced that position. As a young prodigy storming his way up the racing ladder, eventual NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Mark Martin sang Logano’s praises. Logano raced against many NASCAR legends — four-time champion Jeff Gordon and three-time title winner Tony Stewart among them — and eventually started beating them regularly. But it was the examples set by those drivers away from the track that Logano admires most, crediting them for his willingness to be a leader for the sport today.

“I’m only like that because other drivers were like that for me,” Logano said. “And to me, that’s what a true champion is, is somebody that understands that we are here because of the people before us — the media members before you guys, the other drivers before me, the crew chiefs before those crew chiefs, owners before them. All those legends grew the industry that we all reap the benefits of today. But if we don’t do the same thing for the next generation, then our sport will die. That makes me really sad to think that’s even possible, but it is. You can’t just get comfortable and expect everything to keep going the way it is. You’ve got to keep working at it.

“So I look forward to the opportunity to take on that role and help where I can. There’s a lot of questions I’ve asked already, and a lot of things to say, ‘Well, can we do this, or can we do that?’ Or, you know, ‘We could do this a little better next time.’ It’s important to give the feedback back but also be looking to do more as well.”

Such responsibility is a reward after overcoming the intensity of a championship run against three other elite competitors, this year a trio that included Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick. Logano thrives in those pressure-filled situations — so much so that he intentionally adds more during the playoff run.

“It makes me better for whatever reason,” Logano said. “That’s why I always add the pressure when we go into the Championship 4. I always say the big things. I want more pressure on me. I want more on my team. I want that feeling. It makes it more uncomfortable. It sucks. But it makes us better. And so I always play it that direction, but it’s hard. I mean, it’s harder than anything. It’s uncomfortable. You don’t sleep much at all. You’re just thinking, right? You’re stressed out. I’ve been sick since the day before the race. I got sick. I’m still sick. … I mean, it’s a lot. There’s a lot that goes on in your body. It’s a big deal.”

That, Logano said, is a byproduct of the toll that going through the title gauntlet will do to a competitor’s brain. A 10-week postseason quickly whittles down to one race where everything a driver has ever worked for is on the line.

“I’d say the mental side of competing for championships is something that I don’t think everyone can understand,” Logano said. “We all have the pressure of life, right, that hits you in different ways. And it could be different things, right? Could be financial, family, it could be health, those type of pressures. But you have time to think those out a little bit. But this is all coming down to one day. You have an opportunity to make history, to impact so many families that are counting on you to do it. And it’s going to come down to a split decision, right, a quick decision. Turning underneath those guys on the restart to win the championship. It’s going to come down to a moment like that. You know that’s going to happen. There’s going to be a moment.

“And then you also have the fear of losing, that pressure. We got this far, and we didn’t capitalize, or a mistake that you made. I mean, you’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t think this about that stuff, right? Everybody does. And it’s how you handle that that makes the difference, that makes you a true threat when you get there.”

Of course, after 16 seasons and multiple Cup championships on his resume, Logano has a couple of take-that moments to his credit as well.

His 2024 title elevated him to become just the 10th driver in NASCAR history to claim at least three championships, joining, among others, Stewart in those ranks. Logano’s introduction to the Cup Series came in 2009, when he was just 18 years old, replacing Stewart in the No. 20 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing, a ride he occupied for four seasons and in which he collected two wins before an eventual ousting.

“Yeah, there’s a little pride there because it didn’t go as well as I wanted to,” Logano said of his JGR stint. “And there’s a lot of struggles there to even be (still) racing. So, yeah, there’s a lot of pride there.”

Their relationship has evolved over the years to a place of good nature, but Stewart’s nickname for Logano early on was “Silver Spoon,” referencing Logano’s fast rise to NASCAR and the financial assistance Logano’s father was able to contribute. The two had a fierce on-track rivalry at times, most obviously at California Speedway in 2013 when Stewart took exception with a block Logano made on a late-race restart.

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Stewart ended his Cup Series career in 2016 with 49 victories and three championships in 618 starts across 18 seasons. In 579 starts across 17 seasons, Logano has equaled Stewart’s title total and earned 36 wins.

“I did make a joke to my dad afterwards because the Silver Spoon comment — that always pissed me off, which is what he was trying to do. He did a good job at it,” Logano laughed. “But it kind of feels cool that the silver spoon has got three championships like he does now.”