Joey Logano’s no stranger to being NASCAR’s bad guy, and the label’s been sticking for years. Fans boo, social media roasts him, and rivals like Denny Hamlin have called him out, once even blasting him as a “piece of trash human” over a Martinsville wreck. His aggressive style, clutch wins, and that smirky grin spark love and hate in equal measure.

Some cheer his grit; others call his victories “manufactured drama,” especially when bold moves, like his 2018 Martinsville bump on Martin Truex Jr., steal the spotlight. The playoff system itself gets heat, with fans saying Logano’s knack for surviving chaos proves it’s flawed. In 2023, he owned the villain tag but shrugged it off, saying his inner circle, family, team, and those who know the real Joey matter most. Now, he’s doubling down, refusing to play the heel fans want.

Logano stays true

On the Rubbin is Racing podcast, Logano got real when he was asked if he wants to turn heel at the boos he faces: “No, I don’t want to do that because I always want to be true to who I am, and I don’t want to let somebody that doesn’t know who I am affect my character. I was surprised.” That defiance sums up his career. Since his 2009 Cup debut with Joe Gibbs Racing, Logano’s been a lightning rod; his 2013 Hamlin feud at Auto Club Speedway, ending in a fiery crash, cemented his rep as a hard-charger.

The “Sliced Bread” nickname, coined by Mark Martin for his talent, got overshadowed by scraps and wrecks. NASCAR.com and FOX Sports have called him polarizing, yet his 32 wins and two titles (2018, 2022) show a driver who thrives under fire.

“Like I don’t know. I feel like I’m misunderstood in a lot of ways. I don’t know what it is, and I hate it. Like, I look in comments on social media, try to figure out like, okay, why? Why is it? And people say, Oh, it’s your smile,” he said. Logano’s admitted on The Dale Jr. Download in 2024 to scrolling X, puzzled by the hate.

His smile, seen as cocky after wins like 2018’s Martinsville, fuels the villain narrative. ESPN and The Athletic noted how that Truex move, securing his title shot, lit up fans who felt it was dirty. But Logano’s not faking it; he’s confident, shaped by 600+ starts and a team that’s got his back.

“I’m not going to turn into somebody different because somebody else says something about me, right? I’m going to be who I am. The people that matter most to me are the ones who know me the best, right? The people I love, my family, my team, they know me really well,” Logano added.

His wife, Brittany, married in 2014, and their three kids ground him, as he told USA Today. Team Penske’s Paul Wolfe praises his focus, especially in playoff pressure cookers. Logano’s words echo his 2022 NBC Sports interview, where he leaned on his inner circle to stay steady amid boos.

“Like the inner circle of the NASCAR industry knows me, that opinion matters. But if you’ve never really met me, you know, I think anyone would feel the same way,” he said. Dale Jr. backed him on The Dale Jr. Download, calling him a “genuine guy” and a “hell of a racer.”

Even Denny Hamlin, on his 2023 Actions Detrimental podcast, admitted to Logano’s maturity, racing smarter. His unique stat, championships in both Gen 6 and Next Gen eras, shows a grit fans misread as villainy. Logano’s not budging; he’s staying Joey, haters be damned.

Logano’s defiance connects to his early days, when he was just a kid learning stock cars with Venturini Motorsports in ARCA, a team that shaped his character.

Logano’s Venturini roots

As Bill and Cathy Venturini, founders of the ARCA powerhouse, retire, Logano reflected: “This was obviously very early in my career, and I was learning pretty much everything I could about stock cars”.

He continued, “I remember the first test we had in Daytona, and we weren’t very fast and were changing everything we could. When we went down for the race, we were pretty strong. I think we finished second or third or something like that.” That Daytona run, likely 2008, showed his raw talent, turning a rough test into a podium.

“It was cool to think about the test and how off we were and how we were able to overcome that and be strong there. Then you built that relationship because we had gone through some adversity, even though it was only one week. And then [in the next race] at Rockingham, we destroyed them. We were just a couple laps away from lapping the whole field, which was really cool. “

The Venturinis, starting as a two-person Chicago outfit in 1982, were surrogate parents to young drivers, teaching Logano passion and resilience. That foundation, built on family and fight, shaped the guy who shrugs off boos today, staying true to the emotional, driven kid who tore up ARCA.