For a driver with 39 wins and three Cup Series championships, it’s surprising to see Joey Logano still being booed at tracks at this stage of his career. Persona or not, Logano seems to attract more hate than many of the other “villains” in NASCAR. If you ask NASCAR pundit Andrew Kurland, he’d tell you that the hate is somewhat unjustified.
Kurland stated that Logano’s personality changes when he puts on his helmet on the Fast Talk podcast on PRN with Doug Rice and Alexis Erikson. And instances with other favorites in the garage from early on in his career led to fans viewing him in a negative light.
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Then, there’s the complain that Logano won his races because of luck, and his Championships because he exploited a play-off format that didn’t reward consistency. Kurland feels that fans find that difficult to accept.
“I think that’s hard for people to swallow and accept,” Kurland said on the Fast Track podcast.
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In 2018, for instance, the “Big Three” in the garage were Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch. They dominated throughout the regular season and predictably made the Championship 4, with Logano widely considered the outsider few were rooting for. But in the finale, during a 15-lap shootout to the finish, Logano’s perfect start allowed him to beat them and claim his first Cup Series championship.
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Then, in 2022, Logano was not a favorite once again in the regular season, before winning where it counted in the playoffs to secure another title. In 2024, he wasn’t even supposed to make it out of the Round of 12, but a disqualification for Alex Bowman allowed him to make the cut, and once again, lift the Championship.
Logano has been called a Mickey Mouse champion because of how fans feel luck has favored him. But Kurland doesn’t think that. He defended the Team Penske driver in the podcast, saying, “In terms of that, that’s my opinion. I think Joey’s a great guy. I think he’s a tremendous racer and a great human being.”
This year, Logano seems to be making another comeback that would have his haters fuming. He was 20th in the standings and out of the Chase discussions at one point.
But after wins in North Wilkesboro and Richmond, he is now ninth in the standings. His goal is to now win his fourth Cup Series championship just to shut the haters.
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There are still two more races — New Hampshire and Daytona — left before the Chase begins. And a couple more good performance would hand the No. 22 driver an even bigger advantage in his quest for glory.
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The post “Hard For People To Swallow & Accept”- NASCAR Pundit Calls Out Racing Community’s Undue Hate Defending Joey Logano appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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