The final race of the Round of 12 at the Charlotte Roval brought plenty of action and emotion, with Shane van Gisbergen doing what he does best, winning his fifth consecutive road course. Meanwhile, as four more drivers saw their dreams end, Joey Logano somehow once again managed to sneak into the Round of 8 by just 0.167 seconds over Ross Chastain. However, while some fans might not be happy with his pattern of lucky advancements, others are not fans of his words.

This is because last year, Logano faced elimination from the Round of 8 until Alex Bowman’s disqualification for a weight violation at the Roval pushed him through, and he went on eventually life the title. In fact, all his three titles have come under the current playoff setup, making him a staunch supporter of the system. But when his post-race words at the Roval echoed that stance, he stirred up the crowd.

Post the race, Joey Logano didn’t hold back, praising the playoff system that’s defined his career successes. “The playoffs create drama. It creates storylines. It creates awesome moments like that. I don’t understand what people don’t like about it. I really don’t get it. And if you’re one of those people that say the regular season doesn’t matter and playoff points don’t matter, One point would have been the difference there,” he said, pointing to how his single playoff point from earlier races made all the difference in outlasting Chastain by four points total.

“If you don’t have cutoff races and things like that, what are you even talking about today… how Shane waxed everyone’s butt? That’s what you want?”

Joey Logano advances to the Round of 8 over Ross Chastain. Logano speaks about what he saw coming to the line. pic.twitter.com/8rSG5fa7md

— Taylor Kitchen (@_TaylorKitchen_) October 6, 2025

This came right after the Roval race, where Shane Van Gisbergen did the formality of dominating another road course. Logano finished 20th, relying on Chastain‘s pit speeding penalty and the final-lap spin to advance, a pattern seen in his 2024 run when Bowman’s post-race DQ at the same track kept his title hopes alive.

Fans saw this as tone-deaf, given how the format often rewards survival over consistent dominance, leaving Logano open to criticism for defending a system that has boosted his three titles, while others argue it undermines full-season efforts.

But Logano doubled down, “If you don’t have cutoff races and things like that, what are you even talking about today… how Shane waxed everyone’s bu–? That’s what you want? So when you hear all that stuff, I say that; I preach that all the time. I’m not just saying it because it works for us; I’m saying it because it’s true. And everyone likes to look at it in other ways, but like I said, one point was the difference there. It was just real drama.”

This is built on his history of thriving in high-pressure cutoffs, like his fuel-saving win at Las Vegas in 2024 that locked him into the Championship 4 en route to the crown. Yet, analyst Jordan Bianchi highlighted the bias: “I feel like this is a case of Joey Logano winning. If Joey Logano doesn’t win the championship last year, if it was Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson who had done what Logano had done, I don’t think we’re having this conversation,” noting how Logano’s polarizing image amps up scrutiny.

With boos raining down during his interview, Logano stood firm but appeared isolated, as his words ignored calls for a return to season-long points that might challenge his legacy. The uproar didn’t stop there, spilling over to social media, where fans vented their takes.

Fan backlash builds over Logano’s stance

“I would much rather talk about SVG being awesome than Logano lucking his way through the system,” one fan posted, highlighting how van Gisbergen’s dominant run, his fifth road course win in the No. 88 Chevy, got lost in the shuffle. This frustration ties back to the race’s high tire wear that created 15 lead changes, yet coverage zeroed in on Logano’s survival, much like how his 2024 title run overshadowed consistent frontrunners.

“Michael McDowell finished 5th, got 0 airtime so we could focus on the battle for 13th. Joey’s comments here are smug and condescending.” One fan turned to broadcast gripes; McDowell‘s strong top-five in the No. 71 Chevy showcased clean racing, but the telecast prioritized the cutline scrap around Logano’s position, echoing complaints from past rounds where non-playoff efforts get sidelined. This perception makes Logano’s praise feel out of touch.

The sarcasm ramped up in comments like this one upfront: “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe they would’ve shown Dinger’s spin?” The fan jabbed at the heavy replay of Hamlin‘s last-lap tangle, using his nickname to underscore how such moments dominate under playoffs. Without the format, airtime might spread to broader action, like the 109-lap event’s multiple cautions, but instead, it fueled debates on fairness that Logano’s words only intensified.

“You’d be talking about the points battle between all the drivers gunning for the championship; there would have been a 31-race storyline heading into the roval.” This pushes for a pre-2014 season-long chase, where Logano’s three titles might not exist, given his average regular-season rankings. It contrasts the current resets that erase leads.

Finally, boiling it down to motive, a commenter said, “Joey knows he would have 0 championships under a 36-race full-season format. Of course he’s going to simp for the current system.” Logano’s success, tied to cutoff wins at tracks like Atlanta, fits the drama he touts, but critics see it as self-serving, especially after his Roval escape kept hope for title No. 22 alive.