“This was his idea”: Joey Logano extremely clear about Denny Hamlin’s involvement in the knockout system ‘hashing’
Joey Logano has revealed Denny Hamlin as an avid fan of the knockout playoff system. The Team Penske driver wasn't 100 percent sure about the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's hashing the elimination plan but was firm about his stance that Hamlin voted for the implementation.
The next year after Jimmie Johnson bagged his sixth Cup Series title in 2013, NASCAR introduced a new playoff format. The 10-race road to the championship featured three race rounds, in which four drivers were eliminated after every third race. The playoff race winner got an automatic ticket for the next round, depicting the governing body's inclination to reward race winners.
But the system before 2014 was a straightforward 10-race dash. Every playoff driver had a shot at the title until the finale, with the top scorer taking the throne.
Before the 2024 Championship Race kicked off at Phoenix, Hamlin foresaw a 'wrath' on social media if Logano claimed the title. The JGR driver didn't hold back from slamming NASCAR's knockout format for producing controversial races like the most recent controversy at Martinsville.
However, contrary to what Hamlin recently preached, Joey Logano spilled the beans about the former being a fan of the knockout system. The 2024 Cup Series champion revealed that he's almost sure the JGR driver is the creator of the format he's after but was certain about the latter's approval.
The Team Penske driver said, via Dirty Mo Media:
"If I remember correctly and I'm 90 percent sure, I was in the meetings when all this was being hashed out, Denny Hamlin was one of the people in that room. For sure he was in one of those rooms, and I'm not 100 percent sure but I think this was his idea or it was that he was definitely for it."
Logano clapped back at the format's critics. He argued why they have a problem after a decade when no one has raised concerns since inception.
Joey Logano comments on his teammate Ryan Blaney's Phoenix "plan"
Joey Logano won the Las Vegas race to secure his title bid and Ryan Blaney triumphed in the Martinsville race to punch his second Championship 4 entry. Both Team Penske teammates eyed the title. The former looked for his third while the latter aimed for a second consecutive championship, unachieved since the new playoff format came in 2014.
Per Logano, Blaney used to make many mistakes in the past but his detailed work on his racecraft has made him a 'freaking good' driver. Blaney's #12 Ford Mustang was hot on pace following his dismal Las Vegas result, finishing 2nd at Homestead-Miami and 1st in Martinsville, and becoming a challenge for his teammate.
However, since the teammates raced earlier during the practice and qualifying session, Joey Logano knew about the defending champion's "game plan". He elaborated on the intense title fight, via Fox Sports.
"Not only did we have the good restart, which was key, but to be able to hold off the 12 [of Blaney], who was charging pretty hard there at the end, he was pretty fast. That's a lot of pressure. We know what's coming down to the line — it's the championship. It's everything. I know his game plan. I know what was making him good. I raced him earlier in the day, so I knew where his strengths were. I knew where mine were," Logano said.
Joey Logano is the only active NASCAR Cup Series driver having three titles registered under the name.