
Joey Logano isn’t just a three-time NASCAR Champion—he’s a master of seizing opportunities and staying grounded. In this episode of Kenny Conversations, Logano opens up about the challenges of racing at the highest level, the power of teamwork, and the moments that define a champion.
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Joey Logano
We had to play from behind the eight ball the whole time. We still had the opportunity to win the championship even though we didn't have a great regular season. But we got hot when it mattered. We won the races that mattered and we won the championship because of that. And if you don't like that, you can kiss my right. It's so frustrating to see it.
Kenny Wallace
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Kenny Wallace
You're looking at him, the three time NASCAR cup champion and he is now the great Joey Logano. Joey, how are you doing?
Joey Logano
I don't know about the great, but I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Life's pretty good right now.
Kenny Wallace
Hey, you know what? Let's start right there, man. You're only 34 years old and I. I know how humble you are, but you are now the great Joey Logano. I mean, it's got to be an outer body experience. I know you don't think like that, but you are you are the great Joey Logan. Now, does that sound weird?
Joey Logano
Yeah. Well, yeah, because I don't look at myself any differently than what we would have been if we didn't win it. Is it great? Yes. Is it nice to hear three times instead of two time? Yeah. And, you know, four times sound even better. So, like, you just kind of keep going with it throughout the day. You know, you roll with the punches, the ups and the downs. The seasons are long. But I don't really feel like I'm any different. Right. I mean, I've gotten older and I've matured over the years, but I feel like I'm the same Joey like that. Honestly, Kenny, before I jumped on here with this, my son and I were driving four wheelers through the woods for me since I was a kid. Like, that's. That's all I've ever done when I lived across the street from you, that's all I did every day was drive a four wheeler in the woods over there like nothing's ever changed.
Kenny Wallace
I love it. You know, that reminds me of Dale Earnhardt Jr. I. I said to him, you know, I did a Kenny conversation. You and Junior responded the same. I said, junior, you're so popular. You control nascar. You move the needle. What's that feel like? And Junior said, I don't recognize that. You know, the same answer you had. You're great. He controls nascar, and both of you don't recognize it. And I think that's why you're. You're so good. That's why you're a champion. So, okay, let's have a little fun here before we get, you know, to. To the beef, as Mark Martin would say. I love Mark Martin when he talks to the rappers. You got a beef? Your. Your championship meant a lot to my wife. I know this sounds crazy, but I had my wife one night on video, and I said. I said, kim, I said, some of the fans are trying to beat me into submission. They want me to agree that Joey Logano's championship was not legit to my wife. And I said, what do you think? And my wife said, I love Joey Logano. I said, why do you like Joey Logano? I knew the answer, but then she said, he's nice. And then Kenny Schrader on Herman Schrader. Schrader just said, joey's nice. A lot of people that matter to me in my life just say you're nice. And I agree on the cow petty charity road. You are. You are a good soul. You do good things. What's that make you feel like, oh.
Joey Logano
I mean, it's great to hear. And honestly, the people that know you the best or have had a experience with you personally, those are the opinions that you care about. Right. And so there's always going to be haters. There's always going to be someone on social media that's going to say something negative towards you or about your character. But they don't know me. And it's okay because they're forming a judgment off of who you are in a race car. And Kenny, you know, as good as anybody, because I think only true racers understand this, is that being a race car driver gives you the opportunity to be someone completely different. And it's okay. It's actually celebrated. Right. Like, it's crazy that you can put your helmet on and be the biggest selfish butthole you've ever met.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
Joey Logano
And it's what you're supposed to do, by the way. That's what the job is, is to be selfish and go out there and win. Right. I'm not supposed to be kind to say. You just go ahead, you know. No, you have to do that. But if you lived your life that way when you got out of the car. Yeah. You'd not be that good of a person and you probably wouldn't have any friends and you live by yourself. And I know at the end of the day, racing will be here and then it's going to go. And no matter how many championships I got, it will go away and I will be forgotten. It's just. It's just life. And at the end of the day, what are you going to have? People, that's all you got, is those relationships that you've built. And so I guess I cherish those things as more than the trophies because, you know, the trophies are great, but at the end of the day, it's just a piece of metal. So to me, the relationships you have at the end of the day matters the most. That's why family matters. Hanging out with people like you and, you know, those memories that you have, that's all you got.
Kenny Wallace
My Gosh, you were 34 going on 50. Where did you get that wisdom? I mean, I mean this with respect. Did you take any sports therapy? Did it come from your father? Or did. Is that just all on your own?
Joey Logano
My wife has these conversations with me that helps me understand a little bit more of what life's all about. Because you get so consumed sometimes in your job. Right. Like, oh, you know, and I still get that way. Don't get me wrong. Like, because during the season my fuse is a little shorter even at home. Like, the stress is real. But I guess I've watched other drivers retire and go into a state of depression. And I don't want that like as much as anything. Like, I don't want to, like, I love racing. I don't want to stop anytime soon, don't get me wrong on this, but I want to be happy when I'm done. Like, I don't want to miss it because that's all I got. Like, I got to have more in my life than just motorsports.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, your Britney is something else. My wife met your Britney at Bristol Motor Speedway when you joined the Kyle Petty charity ride. And my wife become a fan just, just quickly before we get to that championship run. And that's what this is all about, race fans. We're getting to the championship run. We're gonna, we're gonna needle it right down to the last 10 laps. But your wife, Brittany, you have a first son. He's a boy. Hudson, you got a second boy, Jameson. And then, wow, you struck gold. A girl. Amelia.
Joey Logano
You're right.
Kenny Wallace
Tell me about these, these children and how close is Hudson to being a race car driver?
Joey Logano
Well, first off, my wife is the rock star of the whole family here. And we're coming 10 years, our 10 year anniversary is coming up in December. So she's, she deserves a trophy more than me. Yeah, yeah. So I mean, you know, it is. I mean, I said in my speech too, we're gone a lot on the weekends. I talked about the stress and the pressure here a minute ago and your wife did the same thing is that a lot of times they're raising the kids on their own and the stuff happens while you're gone, right? Stuff breaks out. The house kids go to the hospital because they wreck on something, right? Like, or they get sick, right? Stuff happens. So she's, she's the true rock star behind everything. But yeah, three kids, they're a blast. They're all fun in their own way and they're so completely different. Like my, my oldest Hudson, he's, he's the car kid. Like honestly he's, I'm in my shop right now, he's behind me downstairs working on his RC car. Just wants to anything with wheels. That's his thing. I don't know if he wants to race or not. He just wants to drive. So he's six. I'm okay with that. Dad's not going to push him. My middle child, Jameson, he's the turtle kid. He is reptiles, turtles, like, you name, like animals. That's his thing. Couldn't be more different than me. I hate all that stuff.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Joey Logano
It's like. But it. But it's pushing me a little out of my comfort zone. It's good. And then Amelia, she's my favorite. I mean, that's the bottom line. She's. She's the little girl of the family, everybody. She's gonna be spoiled. She is spoiled. The boys fight for her affection. So do I. We love her. So she's only two, so we don't know what quite she's gonna be like, but we know that she's getting a little sass already. So here we go.
Kenny Wallace
Do you think your dad, Tom, is already with your. Your oldest boy, Hudson, saying, you want to be a race car driver, right?
Joey Logano
He brings it up to him. He's six years old. He's like, yeah, you know. You know what I don't want, though? I don't want him to have to. If he did, if he does decide to go racing or if anyone decides to do it, I don't want them to be held at a different standard. I know it's gonna happen because they're my kid, right? Like, we raced out in Millbridge a couple times, and they introduced him as Joey Logano's kid. Hudson. I'm like, like, like, I didn't have to go through that. Like, when I was Tom McDonald's kid, we didn't do nothing about racing. Like, we're just having fun. I'm six years old. I'm having fun. Like, that's all it's about. Like, I hate. I don't want it to be so serious already.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, I understand. Okay, everybody, I just want to remind everyone that we have done a in depth Kenny conversation with Joey Logano. So if you want to scroll through the Kenny conversations, you will find an in depth conversation with Joey Logano. This is the second one, and I don't know what Charlie's going to name it, but this, to me, this is called the championship conversation, and that's what we're going to do right now. I want to start out by saying some things about this Penske organization and you. And I just want some comments, and then I want you to take me in the car those last 10, 20 laps, okay? Roger Penske, the Penske team. NASCAR said we're going to create the new Next Gen. And in the three years that the Next Gen car has been created, you guys have struck gold. 22. You want. Well, Blaney then you.
Joey Logano
I mean, first off, I couldn't be more proud to race for Roger Penske. I think that's any racer's dream, is to race for somebody like Roger Penske. And when I say somebody like him, there's no one else like him. So it's Roger Penske. He's. He's committed to winning. And I think that piece there is what makes the culture so strong at Penske, is that he's. It's just known when you go there, you're supposed to win. Is it a lot of pressure? Absolutely. But I want to win, too. Like, I don't want to go to a place that's like, hey, nice top five. No, screw that. Like, I want to finish fifth. I want to win. And so I think that is gone through the whole company. He's got some tremendous leaders there, obviously, Cedric and Mike Nelson, Travis Geisler, those guys. I mean, they're. They're strong. They're strong leaders. And. And that's where everything trickles down through from there. So, yeah, I've been in a great place for the last, you know, what's it been? 12 years with a great sponsor, with Shell. So, I mean, Jesus. I mean, you could. Could you ask for anything better? Like, no. And I'm fortunate enough to be able to, you know, have some successful years and be able to win a few championships there. I mean, it's been. It's been great.
Kenny Wallace
Sometimes during this conversation, I want you to know that I'm going to pretend I'm. I'm a fan. Okay. And I do know that. I do know, but I want to hear what you have to say, because I told the fans on social media, I'm going to be. Going to be having a conversation with Joey Logano. What do you want me to ask him? So what does Penske have now? You. You just said that you're expected to win, but you're expected to win in Hendrick, too. What do. What do you think? And I'm thinking engineers. What does Team Penske have that the other teams don't have? That in your mind? Because they all want to win.
Joey Logano
Yeah, I think it's. It comes down to people, Kenny, and I know that's so cliches you hear all the time, but when you look at the top teams, nobody's got any more resources than the next.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. Roger's Indy cars. Do you think that helps with engineering? No.
Joey Logano
No. And I don't mean it in a rude way, but there. It couldn't be more different. An Indy car Cup cars like apples and oranges. Like, it's not even close. So, you know, when you look at Hendrick, the resources that they have, what Gibbs has, what Penske has, what track house has, like, we all got the same stuff. We all buy the same cars. Like, we can't go out engineer, you know, enough to make a difference, a big difference, anymore than the next team, right? We used to design our own spindles and design all our suspensions. Cassie's design, we did all right. And it's like, well, we had a true advantage over, you know, other teams. That's gone. We all buy these same chassis. We buy the bodies from Ford. We have roush gates engines, which are solid, but that's like. That's what the race cars. So once everyone's got the same parts, we got the same brakes, we got same old stuff. It's just how you put it together. And who puts it together? That's the question, right?
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
Joey Logano
It's the people that do that. So the decisions that are made, a small little details that matter, the strategy of the race, right? You talk about Paul Wolf. Jeez, this guy, like, what a crew chief that I got, that puts us in position to win. Even we're not the fastest car, we figure it out, right? I mean, what else could you want?
Kenny Wallace
I. I'm kind of laughing because you put it so perfectly blunt. You're like, okay, the whole sport has got the exact same car. And they do, because I've been there. I've watched them build those right there at the, you know, the Concord Regional Airport. I see the repair center. I've been in the repair center for the next gen car, and, you know, you just really put it away. That I would have never understand. And for everybody else, for the last three years, you've won. You guys, Ryan Blaney and yourself have won the last three championships, and you have the exact same cars everybody else does. That. That is pretty incredible, you know, to think like that. It comes down to pit stops.
Joey Logano
Execution of the race. Right? I mean, the field's never been tighter than it is right now, you know, so, you know, the little things matter more than ever. And, I mean, trust me, the little things are so aggravating, right? Because it's like, am I really making a difference with this? Like, you spend hours on the smallest decision.
Kenny Wallace
What about that Vegas race when Paul kept you out on gas and you kicked her ass? You won Vegas on fuel mileage, but you were still fast. That's detailed.
Joey Logano
We were solid there, and we weren't like the fastest car. Obviously, the 20 was the fastest car. But we were the best team that day, the most well rounded team. Right. We had an advantage when it came to fuel mileage. You know, Paul, Paul will tell you he didn't feel like it was a gamble at all. Like that scenario played out. It's not like we didn't talk about it beforehand. We talked about it the morning of all the different scenarios that we think can happen. And hey, if there's a caution with, I forget what it was now. It was, what, 80 maybe? I don't know what it was. Whatever. Whatever our fuel window was, it's like, are we faster to split it or do we want to run it out? And we decided right then we're going to run it out unless something different happens in the race that we don't expect. And so the scenario presented itself and like, well, we know what to do. We're just going to play this out. And it. A lot of cars couldn't make it. I had to save a little bit of gas. We had to execute that whole scenario too, right? It's not just, oh, we're gonna make it. Like, I gotta save some gas. I gotta pass the 99 in front of me, and I can't let the 20 pass me. And so you gotta be smart enough to understand all that, for one, but then you gotta be smart enough to play it all out. And that takes a lot of information from not only the crew chief, but also the spotter up on the roof telling me where everybody is so I can make sure I manage everything inside the car. So, you know, that's a. It's an interesting win because you don't know you got it until you get there.
Kenny Wallace
What was more interesting is you calculated it perfectly. And I give you as a, I'm in. Okay, this is a joke, but I'm in the driver's union. Okay? You, you calculated it so perfectly that you let Christopher Bell get right to your bumper, come and do the checkered flag. I mean, I almost got a little nervous for you because I wanted you to win as you're going into three. I mean, did you take a snapshot, you know, like the great Dick Trickle? We take pictures in the mirror. Did you take a picture in the mirror entering three or coming off a two? Where. Did you know where he was?
Joey Logano
I mean, really more than anything, I was just listening to Coleman on the roof telling me how many spots, how many seconds back he was with, how many laps there was to go. And I was like, you know, if he's four seconds back with 10 to go, I'm feeling pretty good. Right. I can, I can save a little bit, you know, make sure I get to the end here. I can let that gap get closed up a little bit. But, you know, you don't want to give up too much. Right. Because all it takes is, oh, one missed timed pass on a lap car and you lose a half a second. That lap. You're like, oh, like, here he is, you know, so that's where it gets a little tricky.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. But I think it's pretty incredible that you're calculated enough. I mean, what is four seconds at Vegas? Is it a half, a straightaway? Is it a straightaway, straightaway?
Joey Logano
A back straightaway?
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, but that's pretty cool that, you know, that. I want, I want the fans that's listening to this. I want them to know that, you know what four seconds is at Vegas. That's, that's pretty, that's pretty jam up. That means you're smart.
Joey Logano
The game has to be slow, right? Like, the game has to slow down for you. Right. If you're running 10 tens and you're just hanging on, you're going to miss the details. And honestly, I feel like that's where my strength is as a driver, is that I need to be the smartest driver out there because I'm not the fastest driver out there. And I know that, right. There's certain tracks that fit my wheelhouse, there's certain areas, certain lines, things that work for me better than others. But I think if you look at the grand scheme of things, there's other drivers that can go faster than me. And so I need to figure out a way to beat him. Right. Look at Tom Brady. I think this is the best example ever. Is he the most athletic guy on the football field? Not even close. Not even close. But he was the smartest one out there, wasn't he? Yeah, he won a whole bunch of championships. So I think it's just so much more to it now, these days than just being fast. Like that's just not enough anymore. So that's, I don't know. Way I look at it, you are.
Kenny Wallace
The second person that has said something here. I'm 61 years old, the last person I heard say the greats see things in slow motion. Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson's, you know, brother in law that runs the world of outlaw sprint cars. Now he owns High Limit. But Brad Sweet and myself, we were talking about what makes Kyle Larson so great, and I think it's the same thing that makes you great. And you just said it's the second time. The greats see things in slow motion. Slow it down. For us mortals, it's like, oh, we can't control it. It's happening too fast. Four seconds. What is four seconds? But you and Kyle Larson, Tom Brady. That's my opinion, everybody. You know, the greats see things in slow motion to where they're so fast. For us, we don't react. That is the lesson I learned. And I'm glad you just brought that up because now here I am understanding. What's the difference? Why are you so good? Why is Jeff Gordon. Why was he so good? Things are slow for you all. I love that.
Joey Logano
I think that's what helps in, like, the pressure moments right during the playoffs for us, like, it's not an accident that we win more races in the playoffs than we do in the regular season. Is that an accident? Obviously some of that is, yeah, it's preparation or whatever, but some of it is just that the game feels like. It feels slower. So if you feel more comfortable in the scenarios, you understand what's going on more, you're not. You're not wigging out and feeling like this pressure is getting to you. It just feels a little bit different. I don't know. For us, that's our strength. So, like, we got to keep playing. That one works good. Let's keep working that one.
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Kenny Wallace
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Joey Logano
Well, I mean, the, the race win happened on the restart. There's no doubt about that.
Kenny Wallace
Oh, you blew by him.
Joey Logano
I was able to get the lead quick and get out there, and honestly, I got out there a couple seconds and I was like, okay, I'm gonna chill a little bit. I don't need to be going 10 tens here. I'm gonna save a little bit of tire in case there's a late, like a caution late in the race where we're like, we don't know if we want to put four on or not. Or maybe we'll put two on. Like, I don't need to burn them up. I just need to keep a two second lead. That's comfy. I like that. So I felt good about that. And then Blaney cleared the 24, and I was like, oh, I thought he would be here. You got hard as he was catching me, I was like, okay, I got to figure something out. I got to find some speed somewhere. And Blaney's. He's one of the fastest drivers on the racetrack right now, maybe the fastest driver, especially on long runs. He's just fast. So I knew where he was strong from early in the race because we raced each other earlier, and I knew he was good on the long run, but I also knew he really got this bottom lane working really well in one where he was getting his right size on the yellow line. So he's below the yellow line, putting his rights on it. And I knew he was strong there, and I knew if, okay, if I can take that from him, that's going to slow him down a little bit. If I can figure out how to make speed doing that now, I can take his air and, you know, make speed. So I was able to find a couple little things where I was kind of able to do a half ass, to be honest, which I was kind of able to take some of his air, but also, you know, keep some speed in my car to where, like, I knew if he moved up, he didn't really have as much speed moving up. So that was really the difference maker, is that I knew where he was strong from earlier. Coleman was feeding me information on where he was, and I was able to adjust as I. As he got closer and into the corners and just make sure I was perfect.
Kenny Wallace
Paul Wolf, your crew chief, as I always say, I proved everybody I like to do this. I've worked hard. Paul Wolf, and you are the most successful active combo in NASCAR to this day. Because you two, you know, Jimmy Johnson and. And Chad are gone. You two have taken that place. Tell me about Paul Wolf and, you know, knocking those pit stops out, because I always. People always say, who's going to win the cup championship. I'm like, you don't understand. It comes down to the last pit stop, but yet you're able to blow by them. You. You as the driver, you earn that championship because on the restart, like you said, you had to blow by him. But let's put Paul Wolf in there. What does it feel like to be right now the greatest active. Active means right now? Duo.
Joey Logano
Yeah, I mean. I mean, Paul's a. He's a fantastic leader. I think what makes us great is that he's. We're kind of like the yin and yang. We're like, very different from each other. You know, we're where we kind of fill in each other's blanks, which is exactly what you want in a crew chief. You want that in your relationship at home. Right. You don't want two people strong at the same thing. You want somebody that can do the other thing. Good. And, you know, it's funny because, I mean, our personalities are very. Yeah, we love cars, obviously, we love racing, we love those type of things. But our personalities are very different from each other. Where I'm very outgoing, I like to talk. I don't mind talking a little trash, you know, I enjoy it. Right? Yeah, we're very quiet. You know, emotions are very flat where I'm riding a waves, baby. Like I'm going up and down.
Kenny Wallace
I like it. You just explained Kenny Wallace. Yeah.
Joey Logano
I think that's good that we're different in that way. It helps the team. I think Paul is, you know, I'll think out loud. Every thought that comes to my mind comes right out where, like in a meeting where he is very calculated, thinks things out, then says it or he'll ask a question that will really get your minds going. And, and so he's. He's really. He's really thoughtful. Like, he's thinking of a lot of stuff. You don't realize it sometimes because he's so quiet, but his, his wheels are smoking up in there. Like. But I think he's like a. He's a quiet, stern leader that people respect. And it's not from going out there and giving yay rah rah speeches or BS and people into thinking, you know, trying to get people to believe in him. He just does his thing. And I think the thing I look up to him the most for is that he's. I called him in my speech. Honest Paul, honestly, I don't think he knows how to lie. Like, I don't think he's like. And I'm telling you, it hurts sometimes. He tells.
Kenny Wallace
I was going to say, is he mean?
Joey Logano
No, I wouldn't say it's mean. It's truthful. And that's how you grow, is when you tell the truth. But the truth is hard to say sometimes. Yeah, the truth is tough. And Paul will just say it as it is. Like, okay, like, probably could have softened up that a little bit. Maybe feel a little better when you're telling the truth, but I get it. All right, I'll work on that. It's good. But that's what I think. He does that throughout the whole team and everyone Respects him for that. That's why he's great.
Kenny Wallace
Give me an example of him criticizing you one time and you had to bite it.
Joey Logano
I mean, it's. It's weekly.
Kenny Wallace
Okay, now. Now I know what. What made him and Chad. And because Chad was so mean to Jimmy Johnson, I was like, he's.
Joey Logano
Paul's not mean. I don't want to cover. He's a super nice guy. He's just brutally honest. But, like, for me and my point of my career, it's perfect.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
Joey Logano
If Paul and I were put together when I was 18, 19, 20, 21. Wouldn't work. No way. Wasn't tough enough to handle it. In fact, I had a crew chief like that when I first started. Right. Great guy, great crew chief. Won a couple championships. Right. Did not fit with an 18 year old that had no confidence, that didn't know what he was doing. You just get beat down eventually. You don't believe in yourself. Right. Like, didn't work. Nothing against him. Just didn't work. For me at this point in my career, probably would have worked, but who would have known?
Kenny Wallace
Out of everything I've heard so far in this conversation, that's the one that. That. That right there. I don't even know if you know what you just said, but that would. That was big. That's the one that I can. I think Charlie is going to edit out of this whole deal. When you were 18 years old, you know, you were a kid with a crew chief that was a. Was a badass that had already won championships with Tony Stewart, but you needed to be. You were only 18 years old. My God, that's young. That. That's. That's really good stuff. That. That just taught me something. I learned something. Okay. So was Paul Wolf, wasn't he a race car driver, a good one or not? That's another big deal.
Joey Logano
Pretty good. I mean, he ran some infinity races, you know, back. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, he was. He was pretty decent. Yeah.
Kenny Wallace
Paul Wolf, your crew chief, ran Xfinity races, was a good race car driver. I mean, that's a hell of a combination there. And he's. He's very intense. He makes sure everything's perfect. Wow. That's my. That's my crew chief.
Joey Logano
Yeah. That's great.
Kenny Wallace
So when I say the car's loose, he knows what it means.
Joey Logano
Yep. Yeah. He understands it, or at least ask the right questions to pull the real details out of me if I'm not giving them the right info, which is great. That's what you need.
Kenny Wallace
That's big. Okay. All right, everybody. He wins the race at Phoenix. Joey Logano wins the race at Phoenix. We talk about, you know, coming out of the pits, gear banging, going through the gearbox, gets the lead, gets aggressive, and once again, in Joey Logano style, does what he has to do to win it. Now, we get to the banquet, the awards ceremony, and, boy, there was some good stuff out of that award ceremony. There's a lot that I want to talk about, but the one that really caught my eye, Roger Penske, the greatest car owner in the history of motorsports. And that's not even a debate. I mean, Google it, and it will tell you that he said, Joey Logano is a winner. That moment had to stand still for you. And I know you're used to Roger by now, and I grew up with him because obviously, you know, Rusty started Penske South.
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Have you.
Kenny Wallace
Have you. Here we are. It's. It's a week later now. Have you thought about Roger Penske saying, Joey Logano is a winner?
Joey Logano
I mean, there's a lot of moments where I got to pinch myself every now and again to make sure it's not a dream.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
Joey Logano
And that's. That's great. But, like, you know, Roger, like I said earlier in the interview, I mean, it's the guy you want to drive for because he does it right. Like, you respect him because he does it correctly. He's not out there cutting corners. He's not a type of team that's here today, gone tomorrow because they're doing things and not the correct way. Right. Like Penske perfect. That's what we try to do. We try to hold ourselves at a high standard. Right. We try to honestly, like, what are we trying to do? We try to be better than everybody. Like, I know that sounds simple, but we want to be, you know, clean cut. We want to look right. We want to have our cars look right. We want to win, and we want to treat our sponsors the best, better than anybody. Like, that's what our goals are. That comes from Roger. And he doesn't know. He's. He doesn't. He's never said that to me. But you know that when you walk in the door is that, oh, these guys are trying to be better than everybody. All right, cool. I want to be on that team, you know, like, I want to be on the winning team.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
Joey Logano
And it's just what it is there.
Kenny Wallace
It works, Joey. My race shop and my home are perfectly clean because of Roger Penske. You know, I shave. My brother Rusty would say, shave Herman Roger Penske's coming tomorrow. Get on your knees. Herman, clean the baseboards of the shop. Roger comes, he might look down at the baseboards. I totally understand what you're saying.
Joey Logano
That's how he is.
Kenny Wallace
My family, My children's homes are clean because of Roger Penske. I get it. I know what you're saying. That's crazy how one person. I like what you said there.
Joey Logano
You said, you want everybody.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. You want. You want to be. You want to be on. You want to be part of his team. Penske perfect. Is there a decal about that? That's awesome. Penske perfect. Let's make the decals right now. Okay. So the award ceremony's rolling on, and I. I want to. I want to have fun with something I said the other day. I said, joey has got three of those gold Goodyear cars. Pretty soon, he's going to start a heat race. Where are those gold Goodyear cars right now?
Joey Logano
Right on the other side of the screen, pretty much.
Kenny Wallace
That's awesome.
Joey Logano
They're amazing. I tell you, the detail that's in these gold cars, they. It's remarkable. Like, every little detail of the car is there. The way the grill screens are cut out. The, like, if you look at the inside of the car, like, where my cool shirt plugs in, the connectors are the same. Every switch, the way it's laid out is there. The type of seat belts. I have my steering wheels cut out a little bit in the top so I can see my dash better. The steering wheels cut out a little bit. Like, the smallest little details are all in this car. Unbelievable. Obviously, the hoses are all run the same way. They hand engrave the car with all the. The sponsor letterings and stuff on it, the numbers and all that. You would hand. Just hand freehand it. What, like. And they give it to you. You're like. You're terrified. They're like, thank you. Dared to hold it. Put it down.
Kenny Wallace
Who makes this, Joey? Do we know the name of the company or person?
Joey Logano
It's a man. And I believe he lives in Denver, North Carolina, I believe. But him and his son do it together. And they. From what I've learned, they takes all year.
Kenny Wallace
You know, they're out. You know how they're out there smoking a joint, doing all this? You know, I don't know.
Joey Logano
It would take to build a drive. Me, I mean, I would just throw things. There's no way I can do it.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, they're very artistic people. Very, very good at that. Okay, so now we've got we, you know, by now Charlie Model's dropping in all the pictures here. We got great pictures of the car. Everything that you just talked about. Now they're. You and the wife are. And, and you've got. Now you're. Now you're closing in on Tom Brady. Now we got three rings and boy, you look good with those three rings. Tell me where. What are you doing with the rings?
Joey Logano
I said, screw it, I'm gonna wear them.
Kenny Wallace
They should get in a fight.
Joey Logano
And I'm like, I don't know, like, is that a little. Little bit of a jerk move? Probably. But I'm like, screw it. If this one time I can do it, it's right now.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
Joey Logano
I had to be careful shaking hands because the one on the pinky is a little like loose. Right. They're all made for the same finger, so it's kind of tough to wear them all at the same time. It's a good problem to have. But yeah, it was. I mean, it's the only time you really get to wear them. I don't wear many other times. They're so big and gaudy that, like, it's not who I am. But at a, at your racing banquet and you just won the championship, hell yeah, I'm gonna wear it.
Kenny Wallace
Good move. Absolutely. I always say, put your trophies up. And one thing Rusty taught me, Herman, you gotta remind these people, they remember what they want to, you know. Here you are a three time champion. Sometimes you got to remind people. Then they'll shut up, you know. Okay, so the Ward A ceremony is moving on and you know, before or after, we have some really good press conferences and they struck gold with me, here you are, you're a very young 34 year old man and you said you are more emotional nowadays. Why is that?
Joey Logano
I think it goes back to what we were talking about in the beginning of the show, is that like you, you become a little bit more sensitive, a little more emotional as you get older because you understand what life's about more and you don't do it just for you anymore. Right. Like the first championship was like, that's. That's for me, sweet daddy. And then as you get older, you understand the impact of a championship and how it affects everybody. Like, I'm your team, your family, like, it is huge. And I think, like, you start to understand what life's about and it's more about the people. It's not about the stat next to Joey Logano's name. Like, screw that stuff. It doesn't matter that much. So I think that's why you understand you have better perspective on life. Kids will do that to you, I think. I think that's the biggest thing that's changed. I get at a point, like I told Brittany, we're watching the race Saturday night, the Xfinity race. And, like, I know Justin fairly well, but, like, not that great. And I'm watching the race, and it's over, and they're celebrating on Victor Lane. And I'm crying. I'm watching the race. I'm crying. I'm like, what am I doing? Because I know how hard it is to accomplish that for their whole family, for everybody on the team. I know the feeling of victory and that there's not many people in sports that understand that. And so whether it's just no matter what it is now, I don't know. It gets to me a little bit more than it used to because I just. I think about the people. I think about the trials that people have to go through, how hard it is for everybody and to see success, it just. It makes you happy.
Kenny Wallace
You just appreciate it now. So my cousin Timmy works there at Penske's. He's one of the longest running employees by far. I think he's a wild man, by the way.
Joey Logano
He's a total lawless.
Kenny Wallace
He's a chip off the old block, let's put it that way. But. But to your point, to your point, all those employees, you know, you're talking about, you're a little more emotional now. Every one of those crew members, when you win that championship and Mr. Penske splits that money up, this is serious money for your crew member. Those guys are going to get, like, massive bonuses. For the normal person, it would be life changing. Do you think about that?
Joey Logano
Absolutely. Abso freaking. Literally.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. Yeah. Those crew members, their lives are going to change because of this championship and that bonus that you want to be part of it. That is so awesome. Yeah. Okay, go ahead.
Joey Logano
So the beginning of the year, I did something new for our team, and I created this chart. And it's like all these different, you know, things we gotta hit to, you know, throughout the year. My top five stage wins, race wins, make it through the block, right? And it's. If you get a certain amount of, you know, stars, you. You get a bonus at the end of the year, right? And there's like. And it gets split up between everybody. Cash bonus, right. So. And I kind of had this whole thing set up. It's like, okay, if we hit, you know, three wins and hit this and hit $50,000 spread between everybody. Yeah. If we win. Screw it. None of it matters. It's a $200,000 bonus, right? So we won. And I'm like, oh, boy. I don't know where to get this kind of money.
Kenny Wallace
Oh, my God.
Joey Logano
Into the room. I got everybody in the conference room and I got a duffel bag for full of 200k and I just dumped it out. I said I always wanted to do.
Kenny Wallace
This.
Joey Logano
And just started throwing money around. It was badass. It was so great. So great. Because, I mean, those are the moments that, like, that's so cool to celebrate with everybody. Everyone had that together. It's awesome.
Kenny Wallace
Joey, that is so badass. That's what. That's what. That's what crew members dream of. Share your money with me. Give me.
Joey Logano
I can't do it on my own.
Kenny Wallace
I know that.
Joey Logano
And so I don't know. It's cool to be able to do that. That was. It was neat to see everyone's face.
Kenny Wallace
That is so awesome. Oh, my God, what a great nerve.
Joey Logano
Wracking drive to the shop though, is you got like a duffel bag full of cash. Next year like this don't look right.
Kenny Wallace
We go in a speed limit so the police wouldn't pull you over. And if they pulled you over, you're like, hey, follow me to the race shop, would y'all?
Joey Logano
Yeah, please.
Kenny Wallace
Wow, that is so awesome, man. Congratulations. And. And you're a badass, Joey, because that's. That's what all crew, you know, Listen, the crew members always said, you all don't care about us. You don't tell us what's going on, we're the last to know. And I think what you're shown is that Penske, that's what makes it so good there. You guys are a Penske. Perfect. That is so badass. Wow. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that with us. And now Timmy didn't tell me that, but I just know about these big bonuses. And I'm like, wow, that. That is Roger Penske. And that's why their turnover is very little. There one more that really stood out to me. You said in your press conference that you had a tremendous opportunity. I'll tell you what I know as I'm asking this where we're headed.
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Kenny Wallace
Okay, we're going into another phase right now, everybody. Joey won the race. He went to the awards ceremony. It was wonderful. Anything else to say about the award ceremony before we move on?
Joey Logano
I had fun. It was great.
Kenny Wallace
Okay. All right, everybody buckle up. We're going to start the beef. Everybody has a problem with you winning because they said that when Alex Bowman was light that you got in on a technicality. So understand where I'm coming from right now is is this is what the fans want. But let's start like this at the awards ceremony. You said in your press conference you had a tremendous opportunity and it was not easy to take advantage of it a lot. Exactly what you said. A lot of pressure when you don't take advantage of the opportunity in bold print. The opportunity. I'm assuming that opportunity was when Alex Bowman was illegal Address what you said in that press conference.
Joey Logano
Yeah, I mean, I said it in my speech, too, and I wrote it down when I wrote my speech. I just write bullet points. But the first word I word I wrote was opportunity. Because a lot of opportunities are hard to come by. Don't get me wrong. But a lot of people get opportunities, and one don't see it as an opportunity or don't take Advantage of the opportunity. And they say, well, me, right? Like, oh, poor, poor me. Bs. I hate that. And taking advantage of an opportunity is not easy. Right. That's sometimes the hardest thing to do is, boy, I got. I had the opportunity to drive the 22 car. Well, does that mean I'm going to be in there forever? No. I got to take advantage of that. I got to show up. I got to do good. Right? Like, great opportunity, but that's all it is. It's an empty opportunity until you make something of it. And we had a lot of opportunities throughout the year to win races, to, you know, go through different scenarios. And yeah, you brought up the 48 being light. Like, we had an opportunity to get back in. Better make the most of it after that, Right? Like, we're, hey, we got a second life, right? Does that. Does that take anything away from our championship? Not in my opinion. I can promise you that. Right. Like, the 48 got busted for being too light. Well, I had the race against them that way for Lord knows how long. Maybe it was just that race. Maybe it was more races than that and they just finally got caught. I don't know that answer, but isn't it supposed to be, like, a fair, equal playing ground? Right? Like, that's NASCAR's job to do that. So in my opinion, I was in the whole time. Right. Like, if that's the case and we're keeping up with rules that way, like, that's the way it's supposed to be. So that's just racing at that point. Yeah. And you get the opportunities. Right. Like I talked about it, like, you get one at Nashville, you get the opportunity to keep staying out because we saved a little bit of gas than we could, and we're five over times in and we win Vegas, we get the opportunity to run long, we took advantage of it, we win. Did we get the advantage? We had the opportunity to work two weeks before everybody, before we get to Phoenix to gain an advantage. We took that, too, right. Had the opportunity on a restart in Phoenix, the final restart, to watch the 24 drive in there too hard, open the door for the 20, and then the 20, drive in the corner too hard and open the door for me again. Yeah. Was it. Was it like everything just happened perfectly? Yes, but you had to be there to take advantage of it. You had to do all the things correctly to even have the chance to go out there and make it happen. So, gosh, we had just. We had opportunities. Did everyone have the same opportunities at some point? Yeah, pretty much. Right. Like, everyone looks at the season when in Daytona, in the beginning of the year, we all have the same opportunity to win the championship. We all know the rules. We all know how to get there. We did it.
Kenny Wallace
That reminds me of Chase Elliot and Dale Jr. There are people that say, oh, they're only famous because of their parents. What. What do you want them to do? You know, what do you want? Put them back in their mama.
Joey Logano
Yeah, right. And are they born with a great opportunity? Yes. Was I born? Absolutely. But that's. It's nothing if you don't make anything of it. Right. You look at what Dale junior's doing even to this day. Was he born with a great last name? Yes. But he could be on an island somewhere saying, the hell with the sport. But, no, not Dale junior. Right. Like, he has taken advantage of the opportunity to grow our sport and do so much for us. That's awesome. Right, Kenny, you the same way. You don't have to be doing this show right now. I don't have to be doing this show. Right.
Kenny Wallace
Like, I enjoy this. I learned.
Joey Logano
Hey, like, you want to do it for your sport?
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, I. I love racing. I love NASCAR. And I always thought, you know, it'd be over 60, but. Okay, you won five NASCAR cup races this year. You won Wilkesboro, the All Star race. You won Nashville, you won Atlanta, you won Las Vegas, you won Phoenix. You won the championship. Okay, so now. Just wanted to throw that in there. Okay. We. We're still continuing with the Beef. Where were you? Were you in your car? Where were you. When you. Who called you? Who told you that Alex Bowman was light? And now we are in the. The final eight. Who called you?
Joey Logano
I was. I was here. I was in my shop. I came home. We left the track. Little kid named Liam was. Was there. He's battling. He's battling cancer. Still lives today. But they were down there for the race, and I didn't get to meet him. And my wife was telling me this on the way home, and I was like, well, shoot. Invite him to the house. Like, tell them come over. So he's six. My oldest son's six. So they're playing foosball in the shop, and we're just BSing with their parents and having a good time.
Kenny Wallace
After you're. After you get knocked out. After you. You're knocked out, but you're still a normal person. That's incredible.
Joey Logano
Well, yeah, because they were. They live a long ways away. They were leaving the next day. I'm like, well, I'm not gonna get to meet them, like, bring them over. And so they came over and I got. I started getting some text messages from Paul and others. I was like, yeah. And they're like, don't keep your hopes up. I'm like, yeah, I've. I've heard this story before. We're gonna change. And then Roger called. He's like, you're back in. I'm like, no kidding.
Kenny Wallace
Roger Penske?
Joey Logano
Yeah, he called me. I was like, no way.
Kenny Wallace
Wow, cool.
Joey Logano
And then I walked back in. I said, you guys aren't gonna believe this.
Kenny Wallace
This is unbelievable. Okay, so now, now you, You. We're just going through the beef, everybody. Okay, so now you can't do nothing about it. You. You. I mean, this is smart ass comment. You didn't, you didn't go, hey, I don't want to be in the championship. So this opportunity is given to you. Now it's served up. Was there any emergency meeting called the next day at the shop? Or. Or was it just business as usual?
Joey Logano
Right, Back to work. Nothing changed. Nothing. I mean, we were still in on the owners championship side, so we could still win the owners championship even before the 48 gap knocked out.
Kenny Wallace
Okay?
Joey Logano
So we were still battling for that, which is where the money's at, by the way. So we were going, really? And so then we went. So now we're back in on both. I'm like, okay, cool. Like, okay, we can win both now. But it didn't change the plan.
Kenny Wallace
And changing, okay, we're still dealing. We're going to deal with the beef all the way. I want to rough you up as hard as I can for the fans, okay? So Jimmy Johnson goes through the same thing. He wins seven championships. Four in a row, actually. This helmet behind me right here, me and Jimmy traded helmets. And this helmet says history four times, bro. And I gave him one of my helmets. Now, you know, they hated him. He was vanilla. He wasn't. He wasn't, you know, controversial enough. He was just. He just was lame. All he did was win. They need to change the championship. I want to remind everybody, and I kind of want to remind you, this is 2.0. In other words, this exact thing happened, you know, have you ever thought about that with Jimmy Johnson?
Joey Logano
Yeah. I mean, obviously we want to talk about the playoffs here in the system that we have. The playoffs are here because everybody complained about it being a full season for one, and it wasn't exciting enough. And so we did the 10 races, right? Combined points for 10 races for the guys that are in the chase Right. Okay. Well, there's still like people have it locked up in the last race. Doesn't have that super bowl moment, right? That game seven feel. Okay, let's make something else now. We got a system that I think is like freaking awesome. I love it as a race fan. It is intense. It is pressure packed. It is do or die. People are willing to do the craziest things to try to win. And we're going to complain about that now too. Come on, guys. Like, come on. I don't really know how to even explain how frustrated I get when I hear some of this stuff and then you hear I'm a social media, I see it. No true champion, Mickey Mouse, all this stuff, right? Bottom line is we won three of the last ten races. Pretty solid. It's pretty solid, right? You brought up some of our wins we had before. You know we have five wins on the season. I kind of count Richmond a little bit. Even though we didn't win. But that was pretty dang close. At least the guy that wrecked me didn't win the race either. So.
Kenny Wallace
Good point.
Joey Logano
So I don't know, like I look at that, I'm like, that's almost a six win season. That's solid to say we're not a true champion. You gotta get your. You better get checked out like we had. We showed up when it mattered the most. And that is the same as any other playoff system in any other sport, whether it's the NBA, the NFL, the NHL. I don't care. You can have a great regular season and it will set you up better for the playoffs, right? It definitely does. There's no doubt. You win a regular season championship, get 15 points, you win more races, you get five. Each one, you win a stage, you get one point, right? All of that matters a lot because it's a three race series, three races. Those guys showed up the 45, the 5, the 11. Those guys showed up with like 30 more points to me in every round. We had to overcome that. We started behind all of them. And the facts are they didn't have a good playoff. They had a great regular season to set them up. If they didn't have those playoff points, they're not getting in at around 8. Think about it. The 45 barely made it in at the Roval. If he didn't have the playoff points, he's not in. So it helped. My point is it helped them get all the way to the championship four when they did not have the a solid nine races before that at all. We beat Them in all of them, pretty much. I mean, close to it, at least. Or at least if you combined it all. We did so. And I'm not taking anything away from them, but my point is saying that the regular season matters so much and we had to play from behind the eight ball the whole time being we still had the opportunity to win the championship even though we didn't have a great regular season. But we got hot when it mattered. We won the races that mattered, and we won the championship because of that. And if you don't like that, you can kiss my. It's so frustrating to see it and because I. Because for one point, I see how fair it is for one point. But then also I also see how entertaining it is because I watched the Xfinity series. I watched Chuck series, same format, freaking love it.
Kenny Wallace
It's.
Joey Logano
I love it. I don't for the life of me, I will never understand it. I just know people love to complain. I believe more people like it than dislike it. I also believe that haters are louder than lovers because it's just the way life is.
Kenny Wallace
Wow, that's another decal. You're wise beyond your years. Some people say about Kenny conversation. I say, you don't believe how much I learn.
Joey Logano
Wow.
Kenny Wallace
Haters. No, I love it. Haters are louder than lovers. You know, I went to Springfield, Missouri, and I was unloading my race car, and I couldn't get the car unloaded, and there was a man yelling at me in a good way. He had a lot of spirit. I want to. I want to give you my opinion on nascar, because when I go dirt racing, I, Kenny Wallace, I Mr. NASCAR, and this guy comes running me, goes, just want to let you know the fans are upset because Joey didn't earn it. I looked at him, I said, okay, let me ask you something. Let's go back to El Dora when Scott Bloomquist was light at the scales, Ricky Weiss was light at the scales. And in El Dora, they make a show out of it. They got this big old tower, and on the tower is the weight of the car. You know what I'm saying? They got the green light and the red light. Dirt racing has made a show. Yeah, you watch it on flow or dirt vision. And the announcers go, he won the race. But that's not good enough, ladies and gentlemen. He's got to go to tech inspection. It's not over. Stay tuned. And I mean, they make a show out of it. And I looked at that. That dirt racing man. I said, okay, you run second tonight. Here at the Turkey Bowl. Pay $6,000 to win, and you're in tech. And the guy in front of you is light by 30 pounds. He's illegal. Do you not. Do you not want it? Do you not move up.
Joey Logano
You shouldn't.
Kenny Wallace
It's just. They're just dead quiet. The point is, is that you are 110% right. This is a psychological warfare. You've won so much lately. You've done so good. Haters are louder than lovers and they're just jealous. Joey, I'm with you. I said it. Kenny Schrader said it. Everybody in the sport has said it. Okay, so we broke the beef down. They can argue till they're blue in the face. We, we see you all, everybody. We see you. But you still lost. Joey's right. And I want to. So I want to. Well, I'm a little bit of a prick too, Joey. You know, you got, you got to be like that. It's. It's a tough world out there. They tried, they tried to beat me down. Listen, I went to war. I went to war with, with these people. I'm like, you make no sense. Just like, just like you said, the truck series, the Xfinity series is all the same. It's the same point system. Okay, so we're going to kind of end it like this. There's no trick answer here. I'm just going to ask you about the beef. If you were in charge of nascar, would you change the point system?
Joey Logano
No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't change anything about it. Not a thing. I can almost convince myself to make it a two race finals, final segment, final series, there four cars. Because something can happen that's out of your control. It's different than football because what's going to happen to the football?
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Nothing.
Joey Logano
But a lot of things can happen.
Kenny Wallace
To the race car.
Joey Logano
And when I think of 20, 20, we had that race won, beat the nine off a pit road on a long green flag run, driving away from them. Everything's looking good. We're about to win the championship in 20. And we change a set of tires, put it on. Car shaking so bad I can't see where I'm going to fall in back to forth, just change the tires and it lost us the championship just like that. You tell me that doesn't sting. That one hurt big time. So with that in mind, you think, gosh, it'd be nice to have the opportunity to recover from something like that. But you don't have that game seven moment. If you have that where you have, like, everybody there for one weekend, one race, one track, all for all, for all the marbles. Right. Like, so.
Kenny Wallace
I agree. I really think NASCAR is going to do this. I said. I said, I'm afraid if we go to three races, then somebody that's so many races that somebody could technically wrap it up.
Joey Logano
Yeah.
Kenny Wallace
You know what I mean? Right?
Joey Logano
I wouldn't change anything, and I know everyone's gonna watch this go. Of course you wouldn't change it because you just want. You just got the system figured out. Well, you know what? Then tell someone else. Go figure it out. You know what I mean? Like, that's not. Don't put that on me. You know what I mean?
Kenny Wallace
You still gotta win the race.
Joey Logano
We've done a good job at the system. I just think, as a fan, take myself out of it, and no one believes you can take yourself out of it, but I think I can. And actually just think about the product, like the entertainment value of the race and the storylines of how awesome it is. Like, that's the type of race fan I am. That's the type of racing I like. Everybody can be different. We all could have different opinions, but that's the kind of race fan I am.
Kenny Wallace
I love it. Schrader's right. My wife is right. I'm right. You're nice. Okay, everybody. I listen, race fans. I roughed him up. There you go. I roughed him up. And. And I'm sorry, but if you go to your dirt race or you go to your short track race and all this. Joey, every bit of this is about Alex Bowman being light. And you were given an opportunity. You took advantage of the opportunity. Dale Jr. Chase Elliott, they cannot help that they're an Elliot, that they, you know, are an Earnhardt.
Joey Logano
It's good.
Kenny Wallace
You take advantage of it, boys. So Chase Elliot did. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Did. And you took advantage of an opportunity. Joey, I want to thank you. We're at the end, but I want to rattle off something because I think it's. And now we're gonna. We're gonna make a 180 here. This is gonna be totally different. Thank you for allowing me to go down that route with you, because as Larry MacReynold said, we beat it like a dead horse. You know, my God, it was. It was exhausting. I want to end like this. Penske domination in 2024. And this is to celebrate the captain, your boss, Roger Penske, he said that this ranks is the best season arguably since 1968 for him. Listen to this. Only team to win the championship since the next gen car. You and Blaney, you know you've won three, you've won three in a row. He won his first Rolex 24 Daytona since 1969. Roger Penske won his 20th Indianapolis 500 with Joseph Newgarden. He won the IMSA championship. Won the world Endurance championship in Bahrain. His hundredth cup win in NASCAR with Ford. His hundred sports car win. 100 to pole. My Lord, it's a lot.
Joey Logano
It's a lot of racing, a lot of stuff going on.
Kenny Wallace
And won everything. I think Mr. H wants a Penske pen now. A lapel. If you, if you go back eight years ago, you remember what I'm saying? Roger Penske said, I need one of those H pins. I think, I think it's opposite now. I think Mr. H wants a Penske pin to put on his shirt.
Joey Logano
Yeah.
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. That's pretty incredible. Well, Joey, thank you for your time. Go back to riding the four wheeler with your son. Listen up, everybody. There he is. Respond right here. But opportunity is the headline of the of this Kenny conversation. Remember, we are in podcast form now and it's on Dirty Mo Media. So after you get on watching this on Kenny Wallace YouTube show, it will live on Dirty Mo Media in podcast form now. Joey, thank you.
Joey Logano
All right, well, thank you. Thanks for having me on and I'm sure I'll see you around soon somewhere.
Kenny Wallace
Merry Christmas. Happy Thanksgiving.
Joey Logano
Thanks, guys.
Kenny Wallace
Goodbye, everybody.
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Podcast Summary: Herm & Schrader – "Kenny Conversations: More Than Trophies with Joey Logano"
Release Date: November 28, 2024
In this episode of Herm & Schrader, hosted by Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader, the spotlight shines brightly on Joey Logano, a three-time NASCAR Cup Champion. The conversation delves deep into Joey's championship journey, his relationship with Team Penske, personal insights, and addresses controversies surrounding his recent championship win.
Kenny Wallace opens the discussion by acknowledging Joey's impressive achievements, dubbing him "the great Joey Logano" despite Joey's humble self-assessment.
"I don't really feel like I'm any different. ... that's all I've ever done... nothing's ever changed."
Joey reflects on his championship race, emphasizing perseverance despite a challenging regular season. He highlights the importance of seizing critical moments to secure his titles.
"At the end of the day, you have what are you going to have? People, that's all you got..."
Joey underscores the value of relationships and personal connections over mere trophies, indicating a mature perspective gained through his racing career.
A significant portion of the conversation centers around Team Penske and Joey's collaboration with his crew chief, Paul Wolf.
"I couldn't be more proud to race for Roger Penske. ... We're supposed to win."
Joey praises Roger Penske's commitment to excellence and the culture of winning that permeates the team. He lauds Paul Wolf's leadership, describing their dynamic as "yin and yang," where their differing personalities complement each other perfectly.
"It's the people that do that. So the decisions that are made, a small little details that matter, the strategy of the race..."
He emphasizes that despite all teams having identical equipment, it's the people and their strategic decisions that make the difference.
"Paul's a fantastic leader. ... honest Paul, honestly, I don't think he knows how to lie."
Joey highlights Paul Wolf's honesty and calculated approach, which fosters respect and effective teamwork within the Penske organization.
Post-race, Joey discusses the accolades received, particularly Roger Penske's commendation of his performance.
"Roger Penske ... said, Joey Logano is a winner."
Joey expresses gratitude and disbelief at Roger Penske's praise, reinforcing his respect for the team's high standards and commitment to excellence.
"The detail that's in these gold cars, it's remarkable. ... it's unbelievable."
He marvels at the craftsmanship of the gold Goodyear cars, appreciating the meticulous attention to detail that reflects the team's dedication.
The conversation takes a turn toward addressing criticisms regarding Joey's championship legitimacy, particularly accusations related to technicalities involving competitor Alex Bowman.
"Taking advantage of an opportunity is not easy. ... it's just racing at that point."
Joey defends his championship, asserting that he capitalized on opportunities presented during the races. He compares the situation to other sports, emphasizing fairness and competition.
"So I don't know, like I look at that, I'm like, that's almost a six win season. ... if you don't like that, you can kiss my."
He reiterates that despite criticisms, his focus remains on fair competition and seizing moments that lead to victory.
"I wouldn't change anything about it. ... that's the type of race fan I am."
Joey expresses satisfaction with the current playoff system, likening it to high-stakes moments in other sports. He emphasizes the excitement and pressure it brings to the racing experience.
Joey shares personal anecdotes, offering listeners a glimpse into his life outside racing and his emotional maturation over the years.
"My wife has these conversations with me that helps me understand a little bit more of what life's all about."
He credits his wife for grounding him and providing perspective, ensuring he remains happy beyond his racing achievements.
"The game has to be slow, right? ... that's what my strength is as a driver."
Joey discusses his strategic mindset, comparing himself to Tom Brady in football, emphasizing intelligence and adaptability over mere speed.
"Kids will do that to you... it makes you happy."
He reflects on the emotional impact of victories, now being more attuned to the feelings of his team and the broader racing community.
As the episode wraps up, Kenny Wallace and Joey Logano celebrate Team Penske's dominance in the 2024 racing season, acknowledging the multitude of victories and Roger Penske's unparalleled success across various motorsports disciplines.
[69:48] Joey Logano:
"It's a lot of racing, a lot of stuff going on."
[71:06] Kenny Wallace:
"Thank you for allowing me to go down that route with you, ... Merry Christmas. Happy Thanksgiving."
The episode concludes on a high note, celebrating the achievements of Team Penske and Joey Logano, while also reflecting on the camaraderie and shared successes that define their journey.
Notable Quotes:
Joey Logano [02:29]:
"I don't really feel like I'm any different. ... that's all I've ever done... nothing's ever changed."
Joey Logano [05:06]:
"At the end of the day, you have what are you going to have? People, that's all you got..."
Joey Logano [12:42]:
"I couldn't be more proud to race for Roger Penske. ... We're supposed to win."
Joey Logano [26:22]:
"The game has to be slow, right? ... that's what my strength is as a driver."
Joey Logano [48:43]:
"Taking advantage of an opportunity is not easy. ... it's just racing at that point."
Joey Logano [41:35]:
"Kids will do that to you... it makes you happy."
Joey Logano [65:00]:
"I wouldn't change anything about it. ... that's the type of race fan I am."
This episode offers a comprehensive look into Joey Logano's racing philosophy, his invaluable partnership with Team Penske, and his personal growth both on and off the track. Listeners gain a nuanced understanding of what drives a champion and the intricate dynamics that fuel success in the high-octane world of NASCAR.