Never count Joey Logano out of championship contention, even when he’s struggling to win races. Remember the 2024 campaign? He found his mojo in the playoffs and went on to bag his third Cup title. But the rules of the game have changed. No more win-and-you’re-in, and no more eliminations after every round. In theory, Logano’s odds of winning the title this year are lower given the points gap, but the Penske driver is locked in on his objectives.

Now, racing for a prestigious organization like Team Penske comes with pressure. But rather than folding against the challenging circumstances, the 36-year-old seems to enjoy the grind of the postseason. Trying to solve the mystery behind Logano’s mental approach, John Newby asked him, “You are excited to have that pressure put on you. I mean it in the best way, you’re kind of a psychopath.”

Logano, with his cheeky smile, took this as a compliment and shared his perspective. “I might be (a psychopath). I just know nothing big happens in life if you don’t put pressure on it. If it’s easy to do, you’re probably not accomplishing anything that matters in life. Most likely, the hard things are the things that move the needle in your life. It could be with your family; it could be having kids; it could be whatever. All those things are hard to do, but they move the needle one way or another.”

At 36, Logano isn’t nearing retirement anytime soon. But despite that, he doesn’t want to take the opportunities he has for granted and wants to make the most of them. “And I have the platform to make a big move here right now. And who knows how many more opportunities I have at it. So yeah, that’s a real pressure moment because maybe I won’t have another shot.”

NASCAR teams are banking on young talent, and recent moves within the garage indicate that the major teams are already building for the future. Hendrick Motorsports has signed Connor Zilisch, 23XI Racing has Corey Heim, and Wood Brothers Racing brought in Jesse Love. Now, this doesn’t put Logano’s job in the No. 22 at risk, but he understands the changing dynamics of the sport and wants to maximize his opportunities while he is still in his prime years.

There’s another reason why Logano is fired up this year. His critics have labeled him the “Mickey Mouse champion” for clinching the 2024 title. He had an average finish of 17.11, which was the worst of any NASCAR champion. Also, all three of his titles have come under the controversial playoff format. Although the old format is gone, Logano wants to win his fourth title in the Chase to silence his haters.

“We’re in a pretty good spot and we can see a path to winning this thing. Which would be the comeback story of all time, it would be the middle finger to all the haters. I don’t let people get under my skin too much from attacking me personally. But from attacking what a championship means and that my team doesn’t deserve it, that p***** me off. Like, that’s what makes me angry,” Logano said on Bussin’ with the Boys.

Not just Logano, but the entire No. 22 team is pulling in a similar direction. There’s a new trend going around in the Cup garage that the 2026 champion will come from the top six drivers entering the Chase. But Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, has a different opinion.

Paul Wolfe doesn’t believe in old wisdom

In the previous Chase eras, the commonly accepted wisdom was that you needed to be in the top six to have a shot at winning the trophy. Denny Hamlin enters the Chase as the top seed with a 25-point cushion. Meanwhile, Logano is placed ninth, outside the preferred starting position.

“From that fifth to 15th range, I don’t know how much consistency is there. You see guys, and we’re an example of it, can go weeks and not run good, and then all of a sudden you run good for three or four weeks. I just think the racing in general is a little bit different, and the competition among the field, and how hard it is to be dominant,” Paul Wolfe said.

He gave the example of how his team managed to turn its season around after the win at North Wilkesboro. Logano was outside the top 16 before the win, but two wins and a third-place finish in the last five races have allowed them to get back into title contention.

“At one point it was, let’s hope we can get in this thing. Now we’re sitting ninth and a few points out of eighth. It just goes to show if you get on a run and put together a bunch of really good races, that you can maybe score more points than what you think,” Wolfe explained.

It doesn’t matter if you like Joey Logano or not; he is going to be among the title contenders one way or another. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the Chase and whether or not he silences his critics with another Bill France Trophy.