Plus: Toyota stays out of it, Gragson keeps it real.
NASCAR’s playoff format is a hotly debated topic among fans, media and current and former competitors.
There are those who want playoffs erased and a season-long title battle reinstated, while others prefer a three-race finale among four drivers. However, three-time NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano appears to be among the minority that believe there’s nothing wrong with the current system. The Team Penske driver says that as a race fan, “I love the one race where it all comes down to one thing.”
“I love the pressure that it puts on every member of the team,” Logano says. “I love that they’ve got to come down pit road, and they cannot screw up. I love that every decision that is made with that race car before it leaves the shop has a direct effect on whether you win the championship or not. It’s the Super Bowl moment.”
Logano admits that as a competitor, “It’s stressful as hell.”
“It’s not a comfortable place to be in,” Logano continued. “No one would really ever know what that feels like unless you’re in the seat, but it’s hard. It’s supposed to be hard.
“As a competitor, I’ve been on both ends of those things. I’ve been on the end of one pit stop keeping us from a win, one final restart. I’ve been where one run our car was good and put a set of tires on and it vibrated, and we lost the championship because of it.
“Personally, I love it. Even as a competitor I do think it’s cool, too.”
Hamlin: No Call From Toyota
Denny Hamlin knows that wearing two hats—one as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and another as an owner for 23XI Racing—can sometimes be complicated.
The Virginia native even believes it’s probably cost him some victories because information he shares with 23XI Racing may be used to defeat him since both teams field Toyotas.
However, Hamlin says he’s never received a phone call from Toyota executives after an incident such as the one that occurred at the recent Kansas race. When the race restarted in overtime, Toyota drivers possessed the first five positions. However, a Chevrolet driver won the event after Hamlin took 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace high and into the wall going for the lead in turns three and four.
“I think they (Toyota executives) knew it was a touchy situation,” Hamlin said. “I think they do a really good job of like kind of staying out of that stuff. Hand on a Bible, I can’t tell you the last time that Toyota told us to do anything. They try to let us teams figure it out and let the drivers figure it out. Their job is to provide fast engines and all the information that we need to go fast.”
Hamlin said his opportunity to become a team owner came earlier than he anticipated, and it had been pretty smooth sailing balancing the two until this year’s fall Kansas race.
“We knew there would be challenges,” Hamlin said. “I know every time that I open my mouth and show them things that I think would help them, that there’s a really good chance that they’re going to use that and beat me with it. They’re long-term success is my future.”
Gragson: Everything Over Produced
Noah Gragson says items that often appear on social media about NASCAR drivers is “overproduced.”
“If I had advice to anybody doing it, you’ve got to stay true to yourself and just be yourself,” Gragson said. “Everything is overproduced right now on Instagram. We need to bring it back to the old ways.”
The Front Row Motorsports driver says the organization’s social team focuses on different areas.
“Instagram and Twitter, it’s more personal between myself and the fans and trying to keep the Instagram and the Twitter posts more raw, not so staged or choreographed,” Gragson said. “I feel like everybody just wants raw on Instagram. We’ve hired a full-time guy to do some You Tube videos. The fans have been excited over it, but definitely each platform is kind of its unique vibe in a sense, so we’ve been spending a little bit of time just thinking of different strategies to keep growing on those platforms.”
Gragson says he puts a great deal of energy into doing things for the fans because he is a fan.
“I’ve always told myself that if I want to make it in this sport, I may not be the best driver, but hopefully, I could be a fan favorite, too, and that could help point me in the right direction,” Gragson says.
Category: General Sports
