Joey Logano knows a thing or two about pressure. Back in the good ol’ days, his father, Tom, forged his son’s birth certificate so that he could race against older competitors in tougher categories. It’s that kind of push that helped the Connecticut-native develop into a three-time Cup Series champ. And he’s not the only one. Max Verstappen had a similar trajectory on his way to Formula 1, with the Dutchman’s father, Jos, playing a big role in his development.

But the comparisons end there. If Logano’s childhood was intense, the four-time Formula 1 champ’s early days were forged in a furnace. Jos Verstappen pushed him hard, demanding the limits to be pushed constantly, and shaping every moment both on and off the track. Recognizing that influence, the Team Penske driver dropped the hammer on Max Verstappen’s fierce racing mentality.

Joey Logano reveals the secret behind Verstappen’s mentality

Speaking on the Donut Media podcast, Logano said, “Right. Like some kids are okay with that, right? And they’re going to be fine. You got to learn who like, I mean, parents know your kids. You know your kids better than anyone else, right? And you know like, where you can push and where you can’t. And yes, that competitive fire that he has is why he’s great, right? Like, and it’s as a parent, it’s your job to identify those types of things and try to, to your point, create the diamond, right? “

And if you have been following Max Verstappen’s rise to F1, you are bound to know about his relationship with Jos Verstappen. From a very young age, Jos Verstappen pushed Max relentlessly. He didn’t just support him; he was the mechanic, coach, and tuner, devoting nearly every moment to his son’s racing development.

The Red Bull Racing driver had admitted that his father’s toughness was by design, saying, “I think it’s very important that parents don’t force anything on you… but for me, it was what I needed!” Jos himself admitted he was “hard on Max, but never abused him,” describing countless hours of cold, wet kart-track training, even when Max was exhausted or in tears. He would also deliberately restrict Max’s overtaking in races, forcing him to find alternate ways to pass and attempt to sharpen his racecraft.

Yet that relationship wasn’t just about discipline; there were deeply emotional moments, too. During one carting incident, Jos left Max at a petrol station and refused to speak to him for a week. Max looks back on the severity with gratitude, calling his dad’s commitment “everything” for his career. “After my dad’s own career, he invested all his time in mine… I probably still don’t even understand how much he did.”

While Max has said he might parent differently, less strict, more choice-based, he’s made it clear that without his father’s demanding style, his path to Formula One would’ve been very different.

But Logano knows the killer instinct Max developed through this journey all too well. Joey added, “He was a diamond in the rough at one point, and together they polished it up to see what you have today, Max is doing out there. It’s incredible. But it’s that killer mentality that he’s got, right? Like that’s when you look at all the greats in any sport, they’re freaking crazy people.  Like, they are like just wired to just kill. We are going to, I’m going to win at all costs. I don’t care what it takes. All the best are like that.”

However, when we look at Joey Logano, things look different. The Team Penske driver wasn’t born into a racing family, unlike Max Verstappen. When Joey was just four years old, his father, Tom, bought him a go-kart, and it soon became obvious that Logano loved racing more than any other sport.

But Tom didn’t just stop at support, and in a bold move, he altered the No. 22 driver’s birth certificate when Joey was just 10 so he could race in series that required competitors to be 12. That risky decision paid off. Tom Logano’s commitment wasn’t just financial or administrative; he and the family nurtured his son’s talent, even relocating so his son could have better access to tracks. The Penske driver often credited his father’s belief and sacrifices for much of his success, saying his childhood kart experiences “changed his life.” It’s clear to Logano that his father’s dedication laid the foundation for everything he’s achieved in NASCAR.

But more recently, Joey Logano has been having a rather tough offseason. As he cleared the air on his new bald look, the No. 22 driver dropped a verdict on the playoff system that favored him for so long and how the change will affect him.

Logano isn’t bothered by possible changes to the playoffs

Logano has weighed in on the talk surrounding possible changes to the NASCAR playoff format for 2026 and beyond. While he’s long supported the elimination-style system, the 35-year-old isn’t stressing about what may come next. Despite showing support for the current system, his stance is simple. Whatever NASCAR decides, his job is to adapt.

He said, “It’s not my job to complain about what we have or what we’re going to have. My job is to say, ‘Okay, this is the rules; let’s figure out the strategy to win this thing.’ Like, how do we do that?’ I don’t really care what it is; just tell me what it is so then we can focus on doing that.”

Rumors have been swelling as NASCAR evaluates major tweaks to its current playoff setup, which has been in place since 2014. Nothing has been finalized, but the potential shake-up has become one of the sport’s hottest debates. Speaking with Donut Media, Logano didn’t shy away from the conversation, making it clear he’s ready to roll with any shifts that come his way as the team Penske driver keeps his focus forward.

Logano’s career has always been defined by sharp strategy and an ability to adjust on the fly, and this situation is no different. Whether NASCAR sticks with the format or flips the script, his priority stays the same: fine-tune his performance and chase another championship