Joey Logano has known as criticism of his run to a 3rd NASCAR Cup championship as “bull****” after defeating Penske Ford team-mate Ryan Blaney in last weekend’s Phoenix title decider.
Logano’s common end in 2024 was 17.1, surpassing the earlier report because the worst ever for a Cup champion set by Blaney final yr with a mean end of 14.1.
The champion in 2018 and 2022, Logano confronted elimination from the 2024 playoffs after the Charlotte Roval spherical that concluded the Spherical of 12, but was reinstated following the disqualification for Alex Bowman’s Hendrick Chevrolet being underweight.
Having secured passage to the playoffs with a single victory during the regular season at Nashville, Logano received when it mattered whereas the title favourites failed to take action.
He adopted victory in the opening playoff Round of 16 race at Atlanta with one other within the first Round of 8 contest at Las Vegas, earlier than holding off the fast-closing Blaney within the Phoenix finale on Sunday.
Logano raced inside the guidelines of this format offered to him and in his thoughts, that is no totally different than some other main sporting championship in America.
“The one motive why they do not say this about different sports activities is as a result of they did not change the playoff system,” mentioned Logano, referencing the 2014 choice to chop the variety of championship contenders after each three races.
Joey Logano, Group Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Pictures
“However the playoff system in different sports activities just isn’t a lot totally different than what that is.
“You may have a fantastic common season, it seeds you higher for the playoffs. That does not imply you are assured to go all the way in which to the Tremendous Bowl or the Stanley Cup Finals or the NBA Finals.
“It would not matter; it would show you how to [but it might not]. It is the identical approach in NASCAR; the way in which we’ve the foundations now, is that you just set your self up a lot better.”
Logano additionally famous how there have been drivers comparable to fellow Championship 4 contender Tyler Reddick (23XI Toyota) and Hendrick’s Kyle Larson, eradicated within the Spherical of 8, who entered the playoffs with way more bonus factors than him.
“They’ve the identical alternative to go on the market and win and transfer on to the subsequent spherical,” mentioned Logano.
“So for somebody to say this is not actual, it is a bunch of bull**** in my view. That is fallacious.
“That is one thing that everybody is aware of the foundations when the season begins. We discovered the best way to do it the most effective and discovered the best way to win. It is what our crew has been capable of do for the final three years.”
NASCAR stays an outlier in motorsport for utilizing a playoff format to find out its champion, though Australian Supercars will be introducing a similar knockout-style system in 2025.
Joey Logano, Group Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Pictures
The Cup Collection first adopted a playoff system, then often called the Chase for the Cup, in 2004.
Logano added that critics ought to “settle for what the instances are” and launched a defence of the playoffs.
“I do not know you probably have a whole lot of the moments that we’ve as we speak with out the playoff system,” he mentioned.
“Do you wish to see the championship crown with three races to go? As a result of that is what used to occur. That is fairly boring.
“You’ve got acquired do-or-die moments. You’ve got acquired the stress. You’ve got acquired all these items occurring the final 10 weeks. You’ve guys attempting to get into the playoffs.
“You’ve that storyline. What number of storylines might we make? It is superb. For folks to complain, it makes me mad. It makes me pissed off to listen to that.”
Logano additionally pointed how scouring over hypothetical factors is pointless, as a result of the races would have performed out utterly in another way in such a format.