"He's trying to take food off my plate" - When Joey Logano reflected on his complicated relationship with Kyle Busch

Joey Logano and Kyle Busch are two of NASCAR's top drivers on the circuit today, but the two have a storied rivalry on the track. Logano, a two-time Cup Series champion, sat down for an interview last year to discuss his history with the fellow two-time champion.

In an interview conducted by Graham Bensinger in 2023, the Connecticut native was asked what went wrong between him and Busch, pointing out that he attended the Las Vegas native's wedding.

The driver of the #22 Team Penske Ford responded by saying he doesn't believe their relationship is all that bad and they're simply competitors on the racetrack. He said:

"We're competitors. We compete against each other. Our approach is different, our driving styles aren't that different. He [Busch] may not want to admit to that, but from all the stuff that I look at and review and stuff, we're very comparable."

Logano added that off the racetrack, he and Busch couldn't be more different. The 2015 Daytona 500 champion feels as if he can "shut off" the fiery, competitive side of him and be someone that people can take a liken to.

Logano said that he could be very selfish after putting on a helmet and that he didn't care about anyone on the racetrack other than himself, a drastic difference than how he is off the track.

"I want to be a nice person. I want to be somebody that makes people better for knowing me. I can flip the switch. He's [Busch] trying to take food off my plate, I'm trying to take food off his plate. That's just competition. He should hate me, I should hate him on the racetrack. When we take our helmets off, we should be able to get along. We don't," Joey Logano

Joey Logano and Kyle Busch are the only two active drivers with multiple Cup Series championships.

They might’ve had differences on the track, but Joey Logano and Kyle Busch are both part of an elite company in NASCAR. The two are both two-time Cup Series champions and are the only two active drivers with multiple titles.

Both won their two championships under the 16-driver, elimination-style playoff format. Busch won championships in both 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing, despite missing 11 races in 2015 due to a broken leg and foot suffered in a crash at Daytona to start the year, while Logano claimed the 2018 and 2022 titles with Team Penske.

This season, Joey Logano has a shot to win his third Cup Series title as he’s one of 12 playoff drivers still alive and hunting for a spot in the Round of 8. Busch, meanwhile, has struggled in his second season with Richard Childress Racing as he missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012.