Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Thursday, September 12, 2019
NASCAR PLAYOFF MEDIA DAY DRIVER QUOTES
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Ford Mustang
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CHANCES COMPARED TO HOW YOU FELT THIS TIME LAST YEAR? “I feel better about them this year than I did last year, for sure. Last year at this point, we didn’t have many playoff points. We didn’t have the speed that I felt like we needed to win and it seemed like we started picking it up here and getting a little more consistent and getting some solid runs and get through a round and then all of a sudden we were contending for wins. We found ourselves in the hunt. We were still playing a little behind the eight ball because we had no playoff points but getting those wins ultimately gave us an advantage going into Miami. That said, I learned a lot. It almost doesn’t matter who the favorite is because it can change in the matter of a week> I feel better and more confident as a driver and team that we have speed in our cars and have done it before. Anytime you have done something before you feel more confident in what you can do. I feel much better than last year and hopefully we can do the same.”
WITH THE NEW PACKAGE, YOU TAKE EVERYTHING YOU LEARNED AT HOMESTEAD LAST YEAR AND PRETTY MUCH THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW DON’T YOU? “Pretty much, yeah. It is kind of like that everywhere though these days. It will be interesting to see how this race plays out being the second time here at Vegas compared to being here in March. Early March. The amount of time we have had racing at all these different tracks with the new rules package will change a lot of the complexity of this race compared to the spring. That and it being hotter than crap will probably change the race too. I think it will be interesting to see how it playoffs out. It will be a lot different than the spring race.”
QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “It could be. I think we do see that sometimes. We have seen that in the past too. That wouldn’t be anything new. We have also seen some crazy racing on restarts and I could see that happening there because you have a pretty wide racetrack and new tires. If it is a green-white-checker, I don’t think winning the race off pit road means you have won the race at that point. You still have to execute and it is probably harder to maintain the lead on a restart now than it ever has been because you have to rely on other cars around you to push you and help you. One way or another to be able to maintain the lead. I think probably more now than ever I kind of disagree with that. Once you get the lead, maybe it is a little harder to pass the leader but taking that lead on a restart just because you had a good pit stop isn’t any easier.”
DOES YOUR LEGACY CHANGE IF YOU WIN A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP? “I don’t know. I don’t know if your legacy should be totally hinged on championships. It is nice to say you have one and it would be nice to say you had two and it would be nice to say you had seven but I don’t know if that is what really creates a true champion. I don’t know if it is how many you have. It is what you do with it. What do you do with the platform that God has given you? That is what I think creates a true champion and Hall of Famer. When I was asked that question at the Hall of Fame vote this year, that is what I brought up. What is a Hall of Famer? Is it a champion or someone that has done something to help our sport and help everyone in our sport to grow. I think that might be more of a Hall of Fame thing. Do you have to win a championship to do that? No. I don’t know if winning another championship alters your legacy that much if you don’t do anything with it.”
“Everyone is going to look at it a different way. Everyone has their own way of looking at it. I want to win a second one just as bad as anybody but I don’t think that really changes your legacy if you just win a championship and just going on with normal racing the next year and don’t do anything with it. I think just helping our sport and being a champion for the sport, for our fans, for our media and for our teams. It comes a little bit with the job. It isn’t like you just get the trophy and see ya later. You can do that I guess. I don’t think it is the right way but you can. It has been done before. I think it is important to take that as an opportunity and use that to do something, like you said, a non-profit or something. That is a big deal.”
SO BY YOUR DEFINITION, IT WOULD SEEM YOU HAVE HAD A SUCCESSFUL CHAMPIONSHIP REIGN: “I have tried really hard and put the time in to accomplish the things I have set out to do. Have I done as good a job as others? Probably not, but I tried. I have tried to. I guess it is up to you guys to decide.”
LAST YEAR YOU WERE SEEDED SIXTH AND WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP: HOW IMPORTANT IS THE SEEDING? “I don’t know about the position as much as the amount of points, the playoff points you have with you. It is a lot different this year because of the big three last year that won a ton of races and they were pretty much a lock to get to Miami unless something crazy happened. They had a mulligan in each round to where they could crash or something could happen and life was going to be okay. I don’t think that anyone really has that anymore this year. The playoff points are spread out between more drivers and more teams than it has been. At least more than last year. It is nice to have that cushion but it isn’t really a cushion when everyone else has the same amount. You have a cushion over the guys towards the back of the playoff grid but I would assume that is going to probably go away as there are less cars in the playoffs. Winning right now is important to get as many playoff points as possible but you also have to be smart with how you get through these rounds.”
IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO HAVE SHORT RUN SPEED OR LONG RUN SPEED? “It depends on the track. Some tracks you definitely want to be fast on the short run because you have to make the passes while you can. There have also been more long runs this year than I think there has been in the past, maybe? I don’t know. Some places yes, some places no. Last time here at Vegas we only had the stage cautions. It has to be pretty important to be good on the long run in that case. A lot of times you don’t know. You try to make a well rounded car and try to have a car that can do both. Most times that doesn’t happen. Restarts are key. That is when you are in the groups and have the most opportunity to gain and lose many spots. You have to think there are going to be long runs here and have opportunities to pass here. When we go to a narrow race track it is challenging to pass, but this isn’t a narrow race track. When you come to Vegas and can run up by the wall and down at the bottom, you can pass. So long run speed can pay a reward.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HAVING RICHMOND IN THE PLAYOFFS? “I like that. I like Richmond. It is a good track for us, so from a selfish standpoint, I like it. I think it is cool having more short tracks. I am on team short track anyway. I like them. They are fun. Richomond is a tough track, you have to be really smart as a team and driver with how you handle everything there. I am good with it. I am good with switching them up every year. I would be all about that. I think the playoffs should look different every year, at least the last race, it should be in a different place every year.”
YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO THE ROVAL HAVING TO WIN, RIGHT? “No. You better have two solid races to start so you can breathe going into that place.”
WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THAT ROVAL RACE LAST YEAR? “It was the first time we raced there. So everyone’s kind of learning. It is a very tight road course to where there’s no margin for error. That’s why we crashed so many cars there. You can really spin out without hitting something. That being said, when someone spins out and hits something, they pop back on the racetrack and the crash gets a little bigger. And there are slick parts of the track. There’s parts of the track that have more grip than others and there’s parts that are repaved with newer asphalt than others. So I think that kind of throws everyone for a little bit of a loop as well.”
I KNOW IT IS WAY FAR AWAY, BUT HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOUR RACING CAREER IS OVER? “I can’t say I have thought a whole bunch about it. It has run through my mind. It is natural for that stuff to run through your mind. I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Let me make sure that is clear. I will say that I have tried to touch on a lot of different things to where I have opportunities to go different directions and whether that is our studio business or management business or radio and TV stuff or some of my other investments that I like doing. I like to be able to know that when I do retire down the road I can decide which one I want to pour some fuel on. I am going to have to have a job. I can’t sit around. I just can’t do it. I need something to keep me busy and keep me fresh. I know that about me. That is one thing I do know, that I won’t be able to sit still. I will need to be able to have some competitive vibe and in business there is plenty of that.”
“So far, yearh. What I have hoped for is still way, way ahead. I would say that we are on path to kind of grow it in the rate I am comfortable with and do it the right way. Your reputation is on the line doing things like this and you want to make sure you are doing it the right way. You can do something the wrong way and maybe have a short term gain but it isn’t going to last forever doing it that way and it isn’t the way I want someone to do something with me. You have to do it right.”
