Joey Logano says his comments about NASCAR fans being spoiled regarding their access was completely taken out of context.
Logano has a hour-long segment each week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s The Morning Drive where the original conversation took place on December 14 with hosts Pete Pistone and Mike Bagley and created a week worth’s of debate.
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Notably, rookie driver Carson Hocevar suggested that most Cup Series drivers could stand to be more accessible. Veteran spotter Brett Griffin tackled the subject on the most recent Door, Bumper Clear podcast and argued that modern drivers are less accessible than those from previous generations.
“Tyler Reddick’s caliber of driver would be doing 60-plus sponsorship appearances a year but now the sponsors are not spending the money to fly the drivers in. For Joey to sit here, who grew up rich as hell in the northeast, who raced his whole life and races now, he said NASCAR drivers make a little bit more money than Saturday drivers … the fuck they do.
“How much money does Landon Huffman make a year racing? How much money does Joey Logano make racing?
“A fan my age is accustomed to being able to meet Bill Elliott at McDonalds in Charlotte by UNCC after qualifying from 6-8. Joey Logano, how many times does he go to Planet Fitness a year to sign autographs. He’s not doing it near as much as he used to. Once he signed his seven year Penske Pennzoil contrat, COVID hit, he went missing.
“Don’t give me this, and it’s not just about Joey Logano, but it’s about any driver who doesn’t appreciate our fans because our fans spend $2000 to $5000 a weekend to take their families to the race track.”
Brett Griffin on Door Bumper Clear
Logano, who doesn’t have a very online personality, didn’t even realize he had created this kind of spirited debate until a day or two prior to his next scheduled SiriusXM NASCAR Radio appearance but really took exception to what Griffin said on his podcast.
“We had the classic, pot-stirring click-bait thing that was taken out of context and then blown out of proportion. That’s what happened. I guess I need to clear this up.
“I didn’t even know this was happening. I have a habit of just kind of living my life and then someone came over and said, ‘did you know all this was happening about what you said,’ and I said, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ What did I say?
“Here is what I said: I said our race fans are spoiled because of the access they get compared to other sports and that got taken out of context as ‘Joey Logano says race fans are spoiled’ and that’s not what I said at all. What I meant to say and what I did say is that the access race fans get is incredible. And I love it, by the way, because remember, before every race car driver was a race car driver, they were a race fan and I remember being a child going to the race track to meet my racing heroes. That memory is in my mind all the way through the season. The access that NASCAR gives compared to the NFL and NBA … shoot, I went to a Clippers game after the championship and they let me sit courtside. Coolest thing in the world, but I did not meet one player or think about one of them coming over to say anything. They had no public appearance right before the game.
“If I compare that to what NASCAR offers race fans, that a grandstand ticket, and this is a fact, before the race, you can come down, right down to (driver) intros, and stand right next to the cars in the infield. I go over and say hello to them, especially if they’re wearing a 22 hat by the way, that helps. I was saying, boy, as race fans, and I’m including myself, do not have a lot to complain about on that subject.
“Is it hard being a race fan on other subjects? 100 percent. Weather is always a challenge. No doubt. Cost of being a race fan is expensive. Camping, hotel, tickets. It’s not cheap to go to a NASCAR race. 100 percent. But I will say NASCAR gives fans great access and it’s unfortunate, and it was, pretty frustrating to hear where this went because I feel like I try to do so much for the sport because I love it and I care about the people in it.
“It’s why I’m on the Driver Advisory Council because I want to make it better. I don’t get paid to do that. I do it because I want to make it better for the next generation — not just racers but also race fans. I do this show, 20-plus fan appearances away from the race track last year, but when I heard what some under-educated people said about what I am and what I do, and attacked me, it was really frustrating and made me want to clear this up.
“There are people really uneducated about this sport, speaking into a microphone and that’s not okay. I just feel like as a sport, and myself personally, that some things are clear. So yeah, that all happened and I wanted to come on here and clear this up. Bottom line is I love race fans. I love all race fans and the facts are we give great access. We may not be able to meet every single race fan at the track. That’s impossible for me but I do try to get to as many as possible. I do a lot of appearances away from the track that fans can come to. Public fans. Not special access stuff that anyone can come to and a lot of drivers do that too. Not just me.”
Joey Logano on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio The Morning Drive
Griffin, in addition to being a race winning spotter, is also a marketing and activations specialist with over two decades serving in each capacity at NASCAR’s highest level. He predictably responded to the push back that he felt there was more to be done from a driver interaction standpoint.
Bagley pointed out, and this is objectively true, that Logano is one of the more amenable stars in the sport. The two-time Cup Series champion is reachable for media requests, does the weekly show from February to December as a form of community engagement and does have a variety of activations he participates in.
From that standpoint, Logano says he just felt unfairly maligned by Griffin.
“Here’s the bottom line. We’re all a little spoiled, right? I drive race cars for a living. Am I spoiled? Hell yeah, of course I am.
“There are different ways of looking at it. I try to do as much as I can because I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to meet a particular race car driver, and he blew me off. I remember the feeling forever. That’s why, when I see a kid, I try my hardest to say ‘hello’ because I remember that feeling.
“I was given that experience for a reason. I’ve been able to do a lot of different things with a lot of different foundations with kids. All that stuff. So that happened for a reason. When I heard what Brett Griffin said on that podcast, attacking my character, it made me say ‘this guy does not know and he has a microphone.’
“It’s a bad feeling to hear all that, that someone can make up things to get attention. That’s really frustrating from my perspective but it’s also the world we live in these days. How do you make money in media? You have to make people listen. How do you get people to listen? You have to put some edgy stuff out there to get clickbait to get people to listen.
“Unfortunately, I was a target of that because of a comment that was taken out of context. Bottom line. I care because someone attacked my character but it’s also just life and people really don’t know you so you just have to move on. But I wanted to clarify here that I love my race fans, all the race fans, love me or hate me. I’m only here because we have race fans and that’s why we give them the great access.”
Joey Logano on SiriusXM NASCAR The Morning Drive
Ultimately, Griffin says the door is open for Logano to come on Door, Bumper, Clear to go back and forth and hash it out. It’s something that happens frequently on the polarizing show where commentary gets back around to a subject and they eventually talk it over on the air.
Logano now has an invitation.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.