Joey Logano has by no means been shy about thriving the place chaos lives. A 3-time Cup Sequence champion, Logano arguably grew to become the face of NASCAR’s elimination-style playoffs. He received when it mattered most and ignored the noise that adopted. Critics beloved declaring how he didn’t want season-long dominance, simply completely timed punches. And for years, that strategy labored.
However NASCAR’s return to the Chase format has thrown a curveball even Logano didn’t see coming. The driving force who as soon as mastered do-or-die moments now admits he was shocked by the change. And extra importantly, is aware of it forces a rethink. For Logano, this isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about recalibrating every thing to chase one factor that also issues most: the championship.
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Joey Logano didn’t see it coming, however is aware of precisely what comes subsequent
Joey Logano didn’t attempt to cover his shock when NASCAR formally confirmed the return of the Chase format for 2026, regardless that he was a part of the room the place these conversations had been occurring.
“I used to be somewhat shocked. I used to be on the committee as nicely. And there’s quite a lot of, as like everybody stated, there’s been quite a lot of totally different concepts that had been thrown on the market. This one I didn’t hear about,” .
That committee wasn’t small or symbolic. NASCAR’s Playoff Committee featured greater than two dozen influential voices from throughout the game, together with competitors govt Steve O’Donnell, Corridor of Famers like Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., lively stars resembling Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott, workforce house owners, and media figures. The aim was easy however delicate: repair the championship with out breaking what nonetheless works.
What they landed on was a compromise. As an alternative of going again to a full-season factors system or sticking with the high-risk elimination playoffs, NASCAR opted for the Chase’s cumulative factors format. It rewards consistency, nonetheless values profitable, removes the single-race championship finale, and crucially goals to drag again longtime followers whereas preserving newer, youthful viewers invested.
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For , the change isn’t scary. In actual fact, it’s acquainted. He made his Cup Sequence debut in 2008 when the NASCAR Chase format was already a part of NASCAR’s DNA. Whereas he didn’t win a championship in that period, he discovered how one can race inside it. Then got here the 2014 playoff overhaul, a format Logano didn’t simply adapt to. He mastered it, constructing a status for peaking at precisely the proper time.
Now, that muscle reminiscence issues once more. “The technique will change and I sit up for that. It’s going to be totally different. Um, I’ve been right here earlier than, although, proper? I’m one of many few drivers that lived the chase prior to now the playoffs, and now again to the chase.”
The closing actuality is easy: Logano isn’t mourning the lack of the format he conquered. He’s already adjusting. And if historical past says something, when the principles change, Joey Logano often finds a technique to make them work in his favor.
How the storage responded to NASCAR’s massive shift
If NASCAR anticipated common applause for bringing again the Chase, that wasn’t fairly the case. Nevertheless, the general tone from drivers and executives leaned much more optimistic than divided. In the course of the official announcement, NASCAR’s high brass and a few of the sport’s most recognizable voices lined as much as clarify why this model of the championship format made sense now.
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Competitors govt Steve O’Donnell framed the choice as a rigorously balanced answer moderately than a nostalgic transfer. As he put it, “This (format) is one of the best of each worlds.” In NASCAR’s eyes, the Chase retains the season-long grind significant whereas nonetheless avoiding the winner-take-all chaos that turned the Championship 4 finale right into a lightning rod for criticism.
Former driver and longtime fan favourite Dale Earnhardt Jr., who served as a panelist throughout the playoff committee discussions, was brazenly enthusiastic in regards to the change. For , the attraction wasn’t simply aggressive however was emotional. He defined that the Chase “makes it easier for our followers to comply with,” including that even from a fan’s perspective, the format retains him engaged each single week moderately than tuning in solely when elimination drama spikes.
Mark Martin echoed that sentiment, pushing again exhausting in opposition to on-line backlash, which referred to as the transfer a step backward. “I believe it’s an enormous win for NASCAR. It’s an enormous win for the rivals… It’s an enormous win for the followers. Nobody loses on this format,” Martin stated, emphasizing that consistency lastly carries actual weight once more with out stripping away the significance of profitable.
Present stars additionally weighed in. Chase Elliott, by no means one to sugarcoat issues, who had been hoping for a full-season factors return. “Let’s get pleasure from what we obtained. We’re so fast to complain about every thing,” Elliott stated, urging individuals to provide the format a good likelihood earlier than tearing it aside.
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In the long run, whereas some followers nonetheless needed a full-season factors system, the voices contained in the storage appear aligned on one factor: this Chase revival isn’t in regards to the previous. As an alternative, it’s about stabilizing NASCAR’s future with out dropping what made it compelling within the first place. Let’s see how the choice seems. We received’t have to attend lengthy to seek out out.
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