Joey Logano was counted out once this season. He refuses to let anyone do it again, regardless of what the numbers suggest. The Team Penske star went from 20th in the standings to ninth in a matter of weeks, carrying some serious momentum into the Chase, which begins with a trip to Darlington this weekend. For him, the goal is to let his results do the talking and not Bob Pockrass’ somber reminder.

Veteran journalist Pockrass pointed to Logano on a NASCAR on Fox segment that he has the least number of points — among Chase drivers — in eight of the 10 postseason tracks where the Cup Series has already raced in 2026. Logano couldn’t have been more casual in brushing those concerns off.

“Well, you told me things I didn’t even know,” the No. 22 Ford driver said with a wide grin. He confidently added, “I looked at all of the tracks, and we’ve won at every one of them. We’ve been race-proven at all of them.”

The eight tracks in question are Martinsville, Bristol, Charlotte, Las Vegas, Kansas, Phoenix, Darlington, and Talladega. And Logano has finished 3rd, 7th, 8th, 15th, 30th, 31st, 33rd, and 39th respectively at these venues. They’re not all terrible results, but cumulatively, he’s walked away with a rather underwhelming points haul.

Most of 2026 has been painful for Logano, and he never tried to hide his disappointment. In Darlington earlier this summer, he called his car a piece of “junk”, hinting at what felt like rock bottom in his otherwise storied career. His No. 22 car lacked pace, and he was multiple laps down. The Chase looked out of the question for Logano at that point.

But since mid-July, Logano and the No. 22 team have completely turned their fortunes around, dominating the North Wilkesboro race to end a year-plus-long winless streak. He won again at Richmond and finished third in the Brickyard 400, giving him a huge turnaround in the most important part of the regular season, something his camp has proved time and time again.

Logano wants to use that motivation heading into Chase. He told Pockrass, “I also looked at the recent success that the No. 22 has had over the last eight races or so. We’ve been really, really strong, maybe the strongest car at some of those tracks.”

The three-time Cup Series champ also noted that he has won races at all of the eight tracks. That, and his recent form, puts him in a good place mentally heading into Darlington this weekend. Hopefully for him, his car won’t feel like “junk” this time.

After the points reset, he starts the Chase 65 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. It’s a big gap. But with drivers having the chance to score a maximum of 75 points by winning a race and earning stage points in this new format, it’s a gap that can disappear just as quickly.

Joey Logano looking to shut up the “haters”

Logano’s habit of stepping up right when the whole garage counts him out has made him one of the sport’s most polarizing drivers. Many would argue that he hasn’t been a consistent star and has exploited a now-defunct playoff elimination system to get results when it matters most and advance.

In 2024, for instance, Logano had an average finish of 17.1 and still won the Cup Series championship. Those remain the worst numbers for a champion at this level. And to make matters worse for his critics, he was actually eliminated in the Round of 12 but advanced only because Alex Bowman’s car was disqualified.

Incidents like this have earned him the title “Mickey Mouse Champion” by a section of the community. However, he also refuses to let that demotivate him. In an interview in August this year after his Richmond win, Logano said:

“Do I have a chip on my shoulder? Yeah, that’s a clear yes. So much that our slogan on the team hauler on the scoreboard is ‘for the haters.’ That’s where we’re at, so that’s a good little extra motivation. Either way, the Mickey Mouse years look good on the trophies, and the check was pretty cool to go with it.”

Logano has heard the criticism before, and he has never let it get to him. Now he gets another chance to prove his doubters wrong. The numbers may not favor him heading into the Chase, but that has never stopped him before. If the No. 22 keeps running as it did at the end of the regular season, Logano could have the last word once again.