Carefree Logano has two-week reprieve from stress

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 16, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 16, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 16, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Unlike the 11 other drivers he’s battling for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, Joey Logano can relax and enjoy the next two races on the schedule.

Logano won last Sunday at Charlotte, ensuring he’ll be one of the eight drivers in the Chase’s Eliminator 8 Round, which starts Nov. 1 at Martinsville Speedway.

“I was sitting at the house on Monday night, and I was watching ‘Race Hub’ (on FS1), and I was like ‘Man, this feels great. Everyone else is stressed out in this garage, except us right now.’

“That’s something to be proud of and something we need to take advantage of. That stress will wear a lot of teams out, as we’ve seen, so right now it’s an important time for us to take these next two weeks, enjoy them, but still go out there and try to win the race.”

In fact, that’s the best strategy for keeping the pressure on his adversaries. Logano is the defending winner of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas, and if he repeats on Sunday, he’ll keep the blood pressure of all his competitors pegged as the series moves to Talladega on Oct. 25.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.