“Just the rotation of sports and life”: Joey Logano sees no bad in Martin Truex Jr. retiring from NASCAR at the end of the season

Joey Logano gave his thoughts on Martin Truex Jr.'s decision to retire from racing. With the retirement age in NASCAR significantly decreasing from the early 50s to the early 40s, 34-year-old Joey Logano was recently asked about his thoughts on Truex Jr's retirement. He expressed optimism regarding the future of the #19 driver.

Martin Truex Jr. formally announced his retirement during the press conference ahead of the Corn 350 race at Iowa. While the news of one of the best-performing drivers retiring could have unsettled any other competitor, Joey Logano appears to have maintained an open mind regarding such changes in the competition.

"I mean it's it's gonna happen over time, right. I mean, it's just the rotation of sports and life. And unfortunately, uh, you know, you, your career comes to an end at some point. And maybe it's fortunately right like when you get to that point maybe you're just excited to be getting the heck out right?" Logano said [via Frontstretch] [1:32-1:53]

While he acknowledges that it's unsettling to see athletes retiring at a young age—often in their early 40s or even late 30s—believing they need to start planning for the next phase of their lives, Joey Logano feels he still has plenty left to achieve in the sport.

"It's kind of odd because you retire at a young age. And at least for me I feel like I got to do more because at 40 or upper 30 whatever it is, where the majority of athletes retire you can't just do nothing the rest of your life. You're halfway through or not even right? So you got to go find that next phase in your life and I feel like that's the hard thing to do because all we know your whole life is this you committed 100% into racing." [2:15-2:53]

Not to mention, Joey Logano struggled last year as well, especially during the playoffs, and this year also his regular season has not been that great so far. But now things might take a turn since his crew chief is focused on making the most of the upcoming race at Iowa Raceway.

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Joey Logano's crew chief aims to maximize performance at the Iowa race

The Team Penske #22 driver is entering the Corn 350 race 16 points outside a playoff spot with 10 races left. However, according to Joey Logano's crew chief, Paul Wolfe, there's no need for panic because several upcoming tracks are favorable for the team.

The #22 team excelled with the extra 30 minutes of practice given at Iowa, considering it's the first time the series has competed at the 7/8-mile track. Just as the team gathered valuable information from the North Wilkesboro practice race and test, Wolfe believes the extra time could help them make informed decisions about adjustments to the car before a final run can produce the desired result.

Moreover, given Joey Logano's strong record on short tracks—with a second-place finish at Richmond and a sixth-place finish at Martinsville—Wolfe is feeling positive about the forthcoming races at Iowa this weekend and New Hampshire the next weekend. He highlighted the team's impressive showings on tracks of one mile or less this season, noting:

"It’s just making the most of those opportunities, and I preach that to my guys all the time," Wolfe said [via NBC Sports]

Given the recent trend of cars running out of fuel before crossing the finish line—which cost Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney a victory at Gateway two weeks ago and Martin Truex Jr a potential runner-up finish last weekend at Sonoma—it will be interesting to see how Joey Logano and his team handle the pressure in the upcoming 10 races.