Joey Logano, piloting the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse, enters the NASCAR Cup Series elimination race at the Charlotte ROVAL with a 13-point cushion above the cut line, intensifying his playoff ambitions. Logano addressed the media before qualifying, sharing details about his approach, mindset, and efforts in his ongoing pursuit of championship glory. This weekend’s contest is a critical step in Joey Logano NASCAR ROVAL preparation, as he aims to secure his place in the next playoff round.
Personal Practice Routines and Maintaining Passion
Logano draws on lifelong habits to stay sharp, crediting his private racetrack as a key part of his preparation for high-stress competitions.
“It’s kind of an every week occurrence. There are a lot of good perks with being a race car driver, but one of the coolest things if you do this long enough is you can afford to build your own racetrack and it’s pretty cool. It’s like the coolest thing in the world. It’s like as a child that’s all you wanted is to be able to walk out your front door and jump in your go-kart or your four-wheeler and go have some fun. It’s like every little boy’s dream, so I built a racetrack and it’s awesome. I don’t know if my neighbors love it or not, but I do and they all seem to be pretty cool about it. They haven’t really said anything, so that’s good. I love driving still. Nothing has changed for me since I was a little kid. That’s what I did everyday I got home from school is I’d jump on a go-kart or I’d jump on my quad and I’d go ride. I still do the same thing when I get home from work though, and the good thing is my oldest is becoming fast enough to race with dad and it’s becoming more fun again, so it’s pretty cool.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Gathering Intelligence and Strategic Race-Day Decisions
As he faces Sunday’s elimination race, Logano is focused on data-driven decisions, closely following his rivals’ progress and every variable on track.
“Absolutely. I want to know it all. I want everything, all the information I can possibly get said to me. I think everybody knows you make better decisions when you have all the data and we’re asked to make decisions in the heat of the battle live. There’s no time to talk it through in a boardroom. We’ve got to make the decision at that moment, so the more prepared we can be the better, but also understanding what the situation is, what’s going on around me and what I have to do inside the race car.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Lessons Learned from Past Playoff Highs and Lows
Reflecting on the unpredictable nature of the playoffs, Logano recalled last year’s moment when he thought his championship hopes had ended, only for them to be revitalized in dramatic fashion.
“No. I don’t ever feel like anything is owed to me. You just roll with whatever comes your way and it shows how unpredictable life is and sometimes you don’t need to be going up and down with every wave. I remember the emotions leaving the track. I was bummed. I was like, ‘Well, on one hand we did really good here last year,’ so I was proud of the effort that we gave. I was bummed that we were just a little short, but it is what it is. That’s how I am at the end of the race. It is what it is. I can’t change it now and you just have to keep looking out the windshield and we went home. We went home and had a fairly normal evening, and then I got a call and it was like, ‘Hey, honey, you ain’t gonna believe it. We’re back in.’ Obviously, the next seven days after that changed everything because we went from out to in to winning Vegas and in the Championship 4 and winning our third title, so just a quick turn of events, but that’s NASCAR racing for you. It’s unpredictable. Things can change really, really fast. You just have to keep rolling with it.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Focusing on the ROVAL Before Looking to Vegas
With Las Vegas looming on the calendar, Logano emphasized that his present attention is solely on tackling the challenges at the ROVAL, underscoring the necessity of a step-by-step approach during playoff contention.
“It’s one step at a time. We’ve got to get through this week first. This week right now is the most important race of the season for us. We’ve got to get through this one. Hopefully, we can continue to be in the championship race after this and at that point we’ll look at Vegas, but right now 100 percent of our focus is at the Roval.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Navigating Team Dynamics and Intra-Team Rivalries
Logano spoke candidly about the difficulties of competing against teammates, given the unique environment of NASCAR, where even within the same organization, individual success is paramount.
“I honestly feel like it’s one of the most challenging relationships that you can ever go through because when you think about other team sports you’re on the same team. That team wins together. In this case, you’re on the same team, but only one of you get to win. It gets really confusing. One win is good for everybody and there’s truth to that. I’ve seen that over my years of driving, how your perspective changes over the years. When you first come in it’s me, me, me, me, me, and then you kind of eventually see the big picture if you do it long enough, how the whole ecosystem is really created and how it is good for everyone to see victory at Team Penske or whatever respective team that may be. So, with that said, it’s still challenging because only one driver gets the stat. Only one driver gets the points. Only one driver gets the paycheck. That’s true and there’s also the team aspect, where there’s everyone working on the cars at the shop of course, but then there’s also individual pit crews, there’s individual road crews, crew chiefs, engineers, so there is some separation there as well. It’s a very challenging relationship to navigate and it gets stressed a lot. It’s just unique. I have never seen anything like it in my time.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Team Penske’s Approach to Conflict and Competition
He explained that Team Penske attempts to anticipate potential challenges among teammates, engaging in scenario planning to establish boundaries while never losing sight of the ultimate goal: a team victory.
“You’ve got to race. We try to run through as many scenarios as possible and a lot of what-ifs. The longer you work with a team, the better that becomes because everyone understands. But, at the same time, we’re supposed to race, so you’ve got to weigh that out, too, because that’s our jobs as our fans expect that out of us. There’s a lot of arguments that will argue the other side, so you try to find some happy medium and what is the rules of engagement. What is acceptable when we’re racing for a win? Basically, one of us better win. I think that’s the simplest way of looking at it. One of us better come out with the win. I don’t think there’s probably a more challenging situation that can possibly come up than what Ryan and I went through in Phoenix last year. That’s not just a win, that’s a championship and it’s coming down, mano a mano just the two of us within a car length of each other. It’s a tough situation for both of us to be in.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Reputation for Resilience and Handling Rivals’ Pressure
With increased talk from competitors about eliminating Team Penske drivers like Logano and Ryan from playoff contention, Logano welcomes the challenge, brushing off outside speculation and reaffirming his trademark focus.
“Cool. Good. I want to keep them there. That’s fine. We have a reputation of just grinding it out and sticking around and showing up when it matters, and so that’s been our reputation over the last 10 years plus because we continue to do that. Last week, obviously, didn’t go the way we wanted it to, getting caught up in that wreck, but we’re still in a good position this weekend. We’ll just focus on ourselves and what everyone else wants to say, they’ll say. You just focus on you.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
The Mental Edge in NASCAR Competition
Logano openly agrees that mental toughness can be a major advantage in high-pressure situations during the championship hunt. Whether recovering from setbacks or maintaining composure at critical racing moments, he sees mindset as essential for racing success.
Winning Under Pressure—Recalling Hard-Fought Victories
Logano was asked if he could recall a time when, despite adversity, he still managed to claim victory and provided insight on the high level of perfection now required to win in the Cup Series.
“Gosh, I don’t know off the top of my head. You kind of caught me off guard there. There are a lot of races that come up that way. I mean, these days in Cup racing you could almost argue that every win is a championship performance because the cars are so close that you have to be perfect. You really can’t have a mistake these days and expect to recover and drive through the field. The cars are just too close in speed and passing is more challenging because of that, so I’d say you win these things these days it takes everything. The pit stops have to be perfect. The restarts have to be perfect. The car has to be really, really good. All of those things have to be lined up perfect to win one of these things these days, so it’s kind of hard to say any of them. I feel like it’s harder to win these days than it even used to be just because there are more cars that can.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Inside the NASCAR Driver Meetings and Future Prospects
Logano commented briefly about a recent NASCAR meeting with drivers, noting that discussions covered marketing strategies, upcoming plans, rules, and safety enhancements. He expressed excitement for the future direction of the sport.
“To me, I think where we’re going from a marketing standpoint next year is really exciting.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
The Emotional Highs of Securing a Championship 4 Spot
Recalling his fourth win in Las Vegas and how it clinched his spot in the Championship 4, Logano described the thrill coupled with the immediate realization of the work ahead.
“Just pure excitement because the goal when you start the season is to win the championship and it takes a lot of stepping stones to get to that place. One of the largest ones is just getting to the Championship 4. That’s the one closest to the championship, so getting to the Championship 4 is so hard to do, so when we won that race, you automatically know, ‘Gosh, we’re in it. We’ve got a chance.’ And then you know that you’ve got a couple weeks advantage on everybody. The excitement is real and then it goes straight back to the pressure automatically kicks in. Maybe 30 minutes after the race and the adrenaline starts to come down, you’re like, ‘We’ve got to start working on Phoenix now.’ It starts happening really fast because you’re that close. As great as it is to make the Championship 4, it equally sucks to not win it – to get that far and not accomplish the goal. That hurts so bad, so you just want to make sure you have everything ready.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
Playoff Tension Intensifies as Vegas Approaches
Logano explained the unique pressure of the fall race at Las Vegas compared to the spring, echoing the escalating stakes as the championship nears.
“Oh, absolutely. Yeah, it’s way more stressful. It’s the playoffs. There’s more on the line. You’re getting close, so for the eight that are still in it, absolutely there’s more pressure.”
– Joey Logano, Driver
What Joey Logano’s Approach Signals for Team, Fans, and Rivals
Joey Logano’s methodical mindset, balancing preparedness with the flexibility to adapt, illustrates why both fellow drivers and rivals view him as a formidable contender. His approach sheds light on the internal challenges of balancing team strategy, self-preservation, and the unpredictable nature of NASCAR playoff racing. As the action unfolds at the Charlotte ROVAL, his ability to harness pressure could shape both his personal championship journey and the prospects of Team Penske in one of the most intense weekends of the season.
