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Joey Logano is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Logano, now a two-time champ, is also one of the sports most polarizing drivers.
His abrasive on-track attitude mixed with his laid back off-track demeanor is something that has both aggravated and captivated fans, depending on who you ask.
Logano, meanwhile, says he understands why fans may not understand how he operates.
But one thing he always tries to do is make time for young fans. Logano is one of the most accessible drivers on the grid when it comes to meet-and-greets and autographs.
He explained why that is on a recent Sirius XM radio appearance and explained how an interaction with legendary driver Tony Stewart when he was eight years old shaped his future thought process.
✍🏼 @joeylogano always tries to stop and sign for young fans…
Because he 𝙢𝙖𝙮 have slight trauma from an interaction back in the day w/ @TonyStewart 💨⬇️
🗣️ “I was so upset, and I don’t want (any) other kid to feel that way […] that moment changed me as an adult forever.” pic.twitter.com/AR7SIQP6K6
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) March 2, 2023
“I can think of the few times that I get to meet my childhood heroes as a kid,” he began. And I met Jeff Gordon. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. There’s another driver that I was a big fan of that did not say hello to me, walked right past me. And I was a kid, and I was so upset that I threw all my stuff in the garbage. That is burnt into my mind, from an 8-year-old kid, forever. It is there. So now every time I see a kid, I’m like, ‘I gotta stop.’ Like, even if I’m late. I’m like, ‘I gotta stop, right?'”
The show’s host then needled Logano into revealing who the driver was, after which he admitted it was three-time series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart.
“I was a Tony Stewart fam. Okay, it was Tony,” Logano said. And I’m not saying Tony’s not nice to his fans…He was walking from the garage to his bus in Atlanta. And it has that little area where fans kind of can stack up there and he must have not had a good practice. He looked mad. But I was there with my Tony Stewart gear and I was excited and I wanted to meet him. And I ran up with my stuff like ‘can you sign my stuff’ and he just kind of kept walking.”
Ironically, Logano went on to replace Stewart at Joe Gibbs Racing when he began his Cup Series career.
The two are now friendly, but it’s a hilarious look into an incident that shaped Logano’s career and his personality.
So if you’re child ever gets an autograph from Joey Logano, you can thank Tony Stewart for making it happen.