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Joey Logano became a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion on Sunday, solidifying his spot as one of the sports all-time greats.
But some fans feel that his third championship comes with a caveat. Logano finished the season with an average finish of 17.11, the worst of any Cup Series champion all-time. However, he once again stepped up when the stakes were the highest, winning three of the 10 races in the playoffs.
NASCAR fans believe this shows a huge flaw in the series’ championship format, but Logano isn’t buying it.
“I don’t like people talking that way.”@joeylogano addresses the #NASCARPlayoffs and his run to the title. pic.twitter.com/m9s6V8Bl3B
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 11, 2024
Joey Logano Shuts Down Fans’ Criticism Of His NASCAR Championship Win
“This is something that everyone knows the rules when the season starts,” Logano said. “We figured out how to do it the best and figured out how to win. It’s what our team has been able to do for the last three years.
“So I don’t like people talking that way because if the rules were the old way, we would play it out differently, wouldn’t we?”
Logano’s championship was his second in three years and marked the third consecutive series win for Team Penske. Teammate Ryan Blaney won the championship in 2023 and finished second to Logano in the standings this season.
“For someone to say this isn’t real, it’s a bunch of bull—- in my opinion,” Logano added. “That’s wrong.”
The only reason why they don’t say this about other sports is because they didn’t change the playoff system. But the playoff system in other sports is not much different than what this is.
“You can have a great regular season. It seeds you better for the playoffs. That doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to go all the way to the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup Finals or the NBA Finals. It doesn’t matter. It might help you.”
The complaints aren’t new. They’ve been present for several seasons now and really seemed to ramp up this year.
But Logano makes a pair of great points. First, everyone knows and competes under the same format. It’s obvious that Logano and Team Penske know how to win when it matters. Other teams need to figure that out.
Additionally, the playoffs have given us incredible moments in recent seasons that wouldn’t have happened under previous formats.
Fans may not like it. But they better get used to it, because NASCAR isn’t changing anytime soon.