Joey Logano takes a shot at Rick Hendrick’s Alex Bowman ahead of championship battle at Phoenix
Joey Logano took a shot at Alex Bowman while addressing criticism regarding his spot in the final four. Logano believes he deserved to advance in the playoffs as Bowman and the No. 48 team crossed the line at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, Logano is a 34-year-old professional stock car racing driver from Middletown, Connecticut. Before reaching the Championship 4, the Ford driver was eliminated from the playoffs. He was reinstated following Alex Bowman’s disqualification in Charlotte due to failing the post-race inspection.
Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio via X (formerly Twitter), the Connecticut native stated it was only right the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports got eliminated for running an illegal car.
“They pushed it too far,” Logano said. “They went too far, right? And NASCAR put a foot down, and we were next in line. Does that make us lucky? No. We were next in line for a reason, and we had to race against a car that wasn’t legal. We had the spot the whole time.”
The 35-time Cup race winner argued every driver, including himself, deserves their spot in the championship mix, regardless of how they got in.
“Nobody makes it to the Championship 4 not in a deserving way […] Everyone has the same opportunity when we roll in February in Daytona. Everybody has the same opportunity to get to the Championship 4, no matter how you get there.” [0:42]
He concluded:
“We came in, maybe not the No. 1 seed, maybe not even the No. 10 seed. But we figured out how to get through the rounds, and now we’re here.” [1:00]
Joey Logano is set to compete for the championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 10. He will go up against other championship contenders including Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and defending champ and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney.
If Logano wins the race, he will become a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, having previously won championship titles in 2018 and 2022.
Joey Logano plans to let pit crews take home the championship trophy if he wins at Phoenix
Joey Logano shared his plan of what he'd do if he won the championship trophy at Phoenix Raceway. Speaking with veteran NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, the No. 22 driver said he would let his team keep the trophy for some time just like his previous two championship trophies.
Joey Logano said:
"I know what we will do though is the same thing I've done the other two: I let the guys take it. The guys will get the trophy, and everybody on the team gets it for a week.
While the two-time Cup Series champ expects the trophy to get scratches, he won’t mind that, considering they would have won it together.
“They can do whatever they want with it. I don't care. Go have fun, take pictures, take it to your hometown... I know it comes back with scratches, but we all won it together.”
Joey Logano is entering the season finale with three wins including the Las Vegas victory in the Round of 8 that punched his ticket to the Championship 4. He also has six top-5 and 12 top-10 finishes.