For someone who has built his career on the motto “Pressure is privilege,” Joey Logano sure knows a thing or two about the gruesome playoffs. 10 weeks, 10 races, and 16 contenders fighting for a spot in the Championship 4. The stakes are high, but Joey Logano knows how to handle that pressure. After all, he hasn’t won three championships under this format for nothing.

But this year didn’t go Team Penske’s way. Joey Logano’s championship bid took a hard hit following a very difficult playoff stretch, and the 35-year-old driver saw himself falling short right before he could make it to the Phoenix finale. It’s all about winning, and Logano knows that all too well. And now with time on his hands, Logano didn’t shy away from revealing his clutch moments and how he handles that playoff pressure.

Joey Logano emphasizes clutch moments in the NASCAR playoffs

Speaking on the Donut Media podcast, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion laid out what worked for him.

“I think so. I toot my own horn, but like I do feel like when it’s all on the line, I’m the kind of person that’s like, ‘Give me the ball. That’s when you’re the best. Let me try.’ And I think I think that’s for a couple reasons. And it’s not just me, it’s my team, it’s the culture that we’ve set within our team. It’s by design that we’re like that,” he said.

Joey Logano claimed his third NASCAR Cup Series championship last year by winning four races throughout the season and, more importantly, by making critical moves in the playoffs. He first gained momentum with the victory in the Round of 16 at Atlanta. Then, after being eliminated following the Charlotte Roval, a surprising twist gave him a second chance.

Alex Bowman’s No. 48 failed post-race inspection and was disqualified for being underweight. That DQ dropped him to 38th, cost him crucial points, and moved the Penske driver back into the round of eight. And that is where the turning point came in for the No. 22 driver.

Logano seized that lifeline immediately. In the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas, he stretched the fuel and made a decisive pass to win, securing his spot in the championship. Then, in the title-deciding race at Phoenix Raceway, he held off his teammate Ryan Blaney to win the championship, capitalizing fully on the second chance he was handed.

But it’s not all luck.

Joey Logano clinched his spot in the 2025 Round of 8 in dramatic fashion at the show at the Roval, edging out Ross Chastain by just four points. Throughout the final stage, Chastain and Logano played a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but a costly speeding penalty for Chastain on pit road dropped him behind Logano’s older tires. But just a few laps to go, the 35-year-old driver fitted for fresh rubber wine. The Florida native stayed out, bleeding time.

On the final lap, the Trackhouse Racing driver attempted a dramatic last-ditch maneuver on Denny Hamlin in the chicane, spinning them both and driving backwards across the line in 21st, while the Team Penske driver powered by, locked in his Round of 8 spot. And it is no secret that Logano got booed post-race. However, the champion isn’t affected by it.

Logano added, “So, you have to learn how to handle that. And learn how to find ways that make you better because of it. And so I’ve enjoyed that part a lot. And I think because we’ve kind of thrived in that before, it kind of gets you more confidence. It’s like a snowball running down the hill, right? Once like we get in those moments like, ‘Oh, hell yeah.'”

But as the Connecticut native resets in the off-season, the NASCAR playoff debate is under pressure again, and now, despite Logano supporting the current system, he is receiving a lot of backlash from fans. However, the 35-year-old driver is also aware that the new changes to the format are underway and recently delivered his take on it.

Logano delivers a calm response about the ongoing playoff changes

Joey Logano’s response to the ongoing play of controversy has become one of the more levelheaded voices in a heated debate as NASCAR weighs significant changes to a championship for 2026. While much of the industry is reacting with frustration or uncertainty, the 35-year-old has taken a calm, adaptable stance as the sport evaluates its future structure.

Speaking with Donut Media, the Penske driver made it clear that he’s ready to adjust to whatever direction NASCAR chooses, as long as the rules are communicated early enough for teams to prepare.

“I liked where it was, but I’m gonna like where we go, too. I’m OK with whatever they do, just tell me the rules and then we gotta go figure out a way to win.”

For him, the driver’s responsibility is to work within the system and not fight it, something the three-time Cup champion is well known for. He underscored that approach again, saying,

“It’s not my job to complain about what we have or what we’re gonna have. My job is to say ‘OK, 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.”

Moreover, with playoff viewership on TV slipping, executives, including Steve O’Donnell and Steve Phillips, have acknowledged their conversations about potential changes are active. As a sport close to the future, the pressure is mounting to find a format that balances fairness, excitement, and long-term fan investment.