Joey Logano Knows How Fast NASCAR’s Fortune Can Flip

PXL_20251004_175449546 — (Photo: Greg Engle, CupScene.com)

When last year’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course was over, Joey Logano was out of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Hours later, Logano learned that Alex Bowman had been disqualified for an underweight car, a penalty that put Logano back into the Playoff field.

A week later, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford won at Las Vegas and earned a spot in the Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway, where Logano won the race and claimed his third title in NASCAR’s top division.

“I remember the emotions leaving the track,” Logano said. “I was bummed. I was like, ‘Well, on one hand, we did really good here last year,’ so I was proud of the effort that we gave. I was bummed that we were just a little short, but it is what it is. That’s how I am at the end of the race. It is what it is.

“I can’t change it now, and you just have to keep looking out the windshield and we went home. We went home and had a fairly normal evening, and then I got a call and it was like, ‘Hey, honey, you ain’t gonna believe it. We’re back in.’

“Obviously, the next seven days after that changed everything, because we went from out to in to winning Vegas and in the Championship 4 and winning our third title, so just a quick turn of events, but that’s NASCAR racing for you. It’s unpredictable. Things can change really, really fast. You just have to keep rolling with it.”

Logano comes Sunday’s race eighth in the standings, just 13 points above the current elimination line for the Round of 8. The defending series champion isn’t looking past the Roval.

“It’s one step at a time,” Logano said. “We’ve got to get through this week first. This week right now is the most important race of the season for us. We’ve got to get through this one.

“Hopefully, we can continue to be in the championship race after this, and at that point we’ll look at Vegas (next weekend’s Round of 8 opener), but right now 100 percent of our focus is at the Roval.”