“I made the mistake of believing that I was going to be the man”: Joey Logano looks back on his harsh NASCAR reality check

With a record-setting 600 starts around the corner, Joey Logano reflected on his early days in the NASCAR Cup Series. He admitted making the mistake of being arrogant, considering he was too young to understand.

After scoring win after win in the Xfinity Series and K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East), Logano thought that the Cup Series would be a walk in the park. However, he failed to qualify in what was supposed to be his debut race at Richmond Raceway in 2008. He also struggled to produce a satisfactory result in the rest of his starts that year with Joe Gibbs Racing and Hall of Fame Racing.

During his first four full-time seasons (2009-2012) with a top team like JGR, the Connecticut native only scored two wins. The team eventually replaced him with Matt Kenseth, which he considered the hardest point in his life. But the dismissal opened the door for him to join his current team, Team Penske.

In an interview with NASCAR, the now 35-year-old Ford driver shared how naive he was with his mindset heading into the premier series.

“I didn’t feel the pressure that much at the time, I think, because I was young.” “I didn’t have any responsibilities either; I was a kid. I didn’t have to support my family. I had a ridiculous amount of confidence for no reason at all. When I first started out, I drank all my Kool-Aid. All of the hype that was around me before I came in, I made the mistake of believing that I was going to be the man,” he added.

Looking back, Joey Logano wished the attention wasn't on him after he won several races in lower-tier series and earned commercial gigs. But he said:

“When you’re 18, you don’t know any better.”

Joey Logano drives the #22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske - Source: Imagn

Today, Joey Logano is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and a 37-time Cup race winner. Most of these were achieved in the #22 Ford at Team Penske, a seat he landed after then-teammate Brad Keselowski vouched for him.

In the upcoming race at Dover Motor Speedway, the reigning champion is set to become the 34th driver and the youngest in history to make 600 Cup Series starts. However, he wants to earn more, even planning to surpass Jeff Gordon's record of 797 consecutive starts. That means he must continue competing in the next five and a half years.

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“I'm coming for him”: Joey Logano on surpassing Jeff Gordon's consecutive start streak

Joey Logano sent a message to Jeff Gordon about the latter's all-time record on consecutive starts. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week, Logano made it clear he's coming for Gordon's record as he feels he has a long way to go.

The three-time Cup Series champion told guest host and American rapper Jelly Roll (via Jimmy Kimmel Live on YouTube):

“I feel like I have a long way to go... There's an Iron Man award that's like 780 consecutive starts or something like that. Jeff Gordon has it, and I'm coming for him.” [9:36]

Gordon holds the record at 797 consecutive starts spanning from 1992 to 2015. Ricky Rudd comes in second with 788 starts, followed by Kevin Harvick (750), Bobby Labonte (704), Rusty Wallace (697), and Jimmie Johnson (663).

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma