Logano makes unwanted NASCAR history after voicing | Sports News

NASCAR star Joey Logano made some unwanted history as he became the first defending Cup Series champion to fail to finish in the top. 10 in the opening four races of the season. The man in the no. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske finished in 13th place in his most recent outing at Phoenix Raceway.

The 34-year-old earned his third Cup prize with his 2024 triumph in dramatic circumstances, despite his average finish of 17.1 during the season being the lowest of any title holder in Cup history. Since then, Logano’s form has been decidely mixed in the opening weeks of the 2025 season.

Having qualified in the top. 10 at the Daytona 500, he eventually had to settle for 35th place in the race itself, before finishing 12th at Atlanta Motor Speedway and 24th at Circuit of the Americas. Now, following his 13th-place finish at Phoenix Speedway, he is now the first defending Cup champion to fail to finish in the top. 10 of the first four races of the following campaign, according to Racing Insights.

As Logano occupies ninth place in the Cup standings after four races, he was asked by a reporter following the Shriners Children’s 500 whether he was feeling “frustrated” with his recent showings. The journalist queried: “I wanted to ask you if you sit here more frustrated or more encouraged by the season because you’ve obviously led the most laps of anyone.

“You’ve been so strong in all of the races but haven’t gotten the top tens or even the victories. You could argue that you would probably want where do you kind of see yourself?”

In response, Logano said: “Uh, just rolling with the punches like I typically do at this time of year, um, right? You go out there and you try to just maximize your day, uh, get out there, and like I said, lead laps, score as many stage points as you can get the best finish you possibly can.”

“Um, last week was going, looking like it was actually pretty good, um, where we get those nine stage points in the first stage.

“We got back up to like seventh there at the end, um, before I got ran off the racetrack and then dumped all in one lap. Um, that’s frustrating. I can tell you that’s probably the most frustrating thing that happened all year.”

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In wide-ranging press conference, Logano also addressed the status of NASCAR drivers as elite-level athletes: “The fact that they even ask us is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. It’s how you want to define an athlete, right? In the same way that if you give me a basketball, I’m not going to be that great with it.

“It’s the same way you put an NBA player in a NASCAR race car, and they’re not going to be that great either. So are you going to tell me now an NBA player is not an athlete because they can’t drive a race car? Probably not. So then why would you call me not an athlete? Why would you even be in the conversation? I don’t get that.

“I think when people are competing at a high level – at the very top with the amount of pressure that we all deal with – and not to mention the obviously the physical strains that it takes to drive these race cars these days for a long period of time and tough conditions.”