Joey Logano seeks his second win at Texas. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
FORT WORTH, Texas – While it’s been eight years since Joey Logano last won at Texas Motor Speedway, he understands how to approach a challenging 500 mile race at this venue.
For starters, Logano acknowledges how unpredictable Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on USA) may shape up for himself and his Playoff rivals.
“I feel OK about it. Obviously, there’s a lot of different things that can happen throughout the race this week,” Logano said. “500 miles is a lot. A lot of different things can happen. As long as we have a fast AAA Mustang, we can hang out front. We’ll see what we’ve got.”
As a past winner, Logano knows it’s not a straightforward kind of intermediate like Charlotte and Kansas. Rather, it’s about a balancing act that he and crew chief Paul Wolfe have to contend with their No. 22 AAA Ford Mustang.
As Depeche Mode once sang in 1983, it’s about getting the balance right. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“The track is very unique because 1 and 2 is flat and 3 and 4 is very banked up,” he observed. “So you need two different things out of your car. 3 and 4 still has some bumps and stuff like that.
“You try to set up your car to where it’s not crashing into the racetrack and be as low as it can be. 1 and 2 is the key to success here and doing that with still keeping grip in your car mechanically is the balance. How do you do that? It’s a compromise. It’s a real compromise.”
Certainly, Logano tries to juggle the demands in his life as efficiently as possible. He knows how to win a championship as evident in 2018.
Moreover, he’s balanced life as a father and racecar driver in the past several years. Understandably, that means his favorite NFL team, the New England Patriots, may not get his attention, especially in the next seven weeks.
“I haven’t been following it a whole bunch,” he shared. “There’s a thing called the Playoffs that really takes up a bunch of my time when I’m at the track. There’s a thing called kids at home that takes up a lot of my time. So football doesn’t really fit in there much right now.”
By all means, he would not trade anything in the world for the life he’s enjoying to this day. When he considered his growth as a man and racer from his brash but tenacious ways in 2012 to today, he offers a healthy perspective applicable to anyone who may struggle with chasing excellence.
“My life has changed in so many ways since then,” he said. “I’d say the biggest thing I feel like is not to be afraid to make a mistake. I feel like making mistakes is sometimes the best thing you can do and not being scared to do that because sitting at home and not making mistakes doesn’t produce growth. Going out there, taking risks, learning from those experiences is the number one thing that I did do but I could’ve done more.”
Now, if Logano had a chance to take Marty McFly’s DeLorean time machine for a spin, suffice to say, he knows exactly where he’d go.
“My wedding day was pretty cool,” he remarked. “I’d probably go back to that. That was pretty fun. Either that or the championship day. Both of those were pretty good days.”
Still, he’s got plentiful great days happening in the present. Mainly, fans have seen some of those moments captured in USA Network’s Race for the Championship docuseries.
Certainly, Logano enjoys partaking in a new NASCAR docuseries. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“I think it’s been great,” he said as he acknowledged the documentary crew in the media center. “I think it’s been a lot of fun to watch. I get excited about watching it on Thursdays and seeing not just my own part but also seeing how my competitors prepare for races and what their lives are like.
“Yea, we kind of all know each other but not to that level a lot of times. So it’s kind of fun to see that. It’s just interesting. It’s kind of cool to see it. I enjoy it.”
For fans who took delight in Logano’s affectionate nickname for his wife, suffice to say, it’s not just for the show.
“She’s hot! It’s true,” he proudly said with his trademark smile.
