“Makes me so mad”: Joey Logano comes down heavily on NASCAR Playoff format criticism

NASCAR driver Joey Logano secured his third Cup Series title on Sunday, November 10. His triumph invited a lot of controversy and criticism for the playoff format from fans and notable athletes in the sport. Recently, Logano expressed his frustration about the continuous backlash.

Three-time Cup Series champion Logano pilots the #22 Ford for Team Penske, competing full-time in the Cup Series. In his NASCAR career, the Connecticut native has secured 68 trips to victory lane, of which 36 have come in the Cup Series.

Logano has secured four race wins this season, including the race Championship Race in Phoenix last Sunday. However, his playoff journey has reportedly raised concerns about the current format. During a recent episode of the 'Rubbin is Racing' YouTube channel, Logano was asked about his thoughts on the criticism of the playoff format following his victory in Phoenix. Logano said (via X, formerly Twitter):

"This whole thing makes me so mad because it's not new. We're 11 years into this, and the first year it was amazing. And then a couple of guys feel like they should have made it. They don't. They mouth off a little bit. Some fans get behind it. Some media members get behind it. They keep going. They take it. 'Oh my gosh, the system's broken,' just like that. So I guess this is like when I hear that it's frustrating because we used to crown a champion, with three races to go."

Despite securing the 2024 Cup Series championship, Joey Logano's season has been marked by what many have called the worst statistics ever for a title-winning driver. Logano posted an average finish of 17.1, the lowest of any champion in NASCAR history. Still, he managed to clinch the coveted title. A similar narrative emerged in 2023 with his teammate Ryan Blaney, who faced similar criticism for winning the championship despite underwhelming numbers.

However, his recent title also marked Team Penske's third consecutive title, displaying their continuous dominance in the sport. Moreover, both Joey Logano and Blaney created history as the only drivers to secure a P1 and P2 finish for the same team in the Championship Race.

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“We've ended the season with five wins”: Joey Logano’s championship-winning crew chief talks about their ‘hard to believe’ season

Joey Logano's crew chief for the #22 team, Paul Wolfe, recently reflected on his team's performance in the 2024 Cup Series season. Despite the struggles, Wolfe outlined the team's success in the campaign.

In a recent post by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Wolfe spoke about Logano, the #22 team's resilience, and their subsequent triumph this season (via X).

"It just shows the fight we got in this team, the experience it's been and up and down here, right? We've had a lot of struggles at certain tracks, but we've also shown a lot of speed at times, you know, and I think, you know, if you count the All-Star, we've ended the season with five wins, which l think seems hard to believe for some people." Wolfe said.

Joey Logano, who had initially not made it to the playoffs, made the most of HMS driver Alex Bowman's misfortune. Bowman failed a post-race inspection at Charlotte, paving the way for the Penske driver to secure his third Cup Series title.