Joey Logano Refuses to Defend His “Selfish” Persona as He Talks About Things Bigger Than His Third Championship

Joey Logano is now a three-time NASCAR champion, joining an exclusive club of elite drivers. But while his on-track success is undeniable, his latest championship raised some eyebrows—particularly about NASCAR’s playoff format. Logano’s consistency over the season wasn’t exactly top-notch, and in fact, his average finish (17.1) was the worst ever for a champion in the sport’s history. But let’s be real: despite the stats, Joey Logano is still one of the most dominant drivers of this era.

That dominance has earned him both fans and critics, and he’s often labeled as “selfish” on the track. It’s a term Logano’s used to, and one he doesn’t shy away from. After all, as he’s said many times before, to win in NASCAR, you’ve got to be a little bit selfish. But what people might not realize is that Logano’s “selfishness” is a part of a bigger picture—one that involves a clear distinction between his on-track persona and his off-track life.

Joey Logano on what it means to be “selfish” in racing

The Connecticut native isn’t just a talented driver—he’s also got a pretty strong sense of who he is and what he believes in. Since NASCAR introduced the next-gen car in 2022, Logano has been a force to be reckoned with, grabbing two championships and nine wins. But for Logano, winning comes with a mindset that’s all about flipping a switch between who he is on the track and who he is off of it.

While that has led Kyle Busch to believe him to be “two-faced” that’s just the principle Logano lives by. And for Logano, it’s not just about getting ahead of the competition—it’s about understanding that this is the nature of the job. Recently, in a conversation with NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace, he put it simply, “Being a race car driver gives you the opportunity to be someone completely different… It’s actually celebrated, right? Like you can put your helmet on and be the biggest selfish b–thole you’ve ever met. And it’s what you’re supposed to do! That’s what the job is to be selfish and go out there and win.”

But here’s the kicker: Joey Logano’s quick to point out that this “selfish” mentality only applies to the track. Once the helmet comes off, it’s a different story. In his words, “If you lived your life that way when you got out of the car… you’d not be that good of a person and you probably wouldn’t have any friends and you’d live by yourself.” For Logano, life beyond racing is what truly matters, and he believes racing is just a chapter, albeit an important one in a much bigger story.

Joey Logano may be all business behind the wheel, but he’s got a clear understanding of what matters when the race is over. “At the end of the day, racing will be here and then it’s going to go,” he says. “No matter how many championships I got, it will go away and I will be forgotten. 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.”

It’s not about the trophies for Logano. Sure, they’re nice, but they’re just pieces of metal at the end of the day. For him, it’s the relationships—the friendships, the family—that make life worth living. He even went on to say, “I cherish those things more than the trophies because you know, the trophies are great, but at the end of the day, they’re just a piece of metal. To me the relationships you have, those memories you make, that’s all you got.”

Joey Logano dwells on the reason behind his beliefs

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NASCAR is a brutal sport, and it can take a toll on you, putting a driver on cloud nine when he’s performing well and also completely shattering them if things go south. It can happen to the best of the drivers. Like how two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch had one of his worst seasons ever, going winless for the first time in 19 years. And, in the season, it took a mental toll on him. It was evident when he previously expressed his frustration for remaining winless, he said, “It’s been so dismal and so heartbreaking that I have a hard time dealing with enough stuff in my life that every Sunday to keep adding to it is getting harder and harder to deal with.”

This is when probably Logano’s on-and-off switch strategy seems like a sound one. He is determined not to let his passion for racing consume him entirely. He’s seen drivers retire and fall into a mental slump, and that’s something he’s doing his best to avoid. “I love racing, I don’t want to stop anytime soon,” Logano says. “But I want to be happy when I’m done. I don’t want to miss it because that’s all I got. I’ve got to have more in my life than just motorsports.” It’s this kind of thinking that keeps him in a positive mindset, balancing the high-pressure world of NASCAR with the more important things in life.

And the credit to Logano’s wisdom isn’t his alone. “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 during the season my fuse is a little shorter even at home, like distress is real.” But perhaps through this all, Logano is still able to keep smiling because of the differentiation he can make on and off the racetrack.

Do you agree with Joey Logano’s beliefs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.