Like every single driver in Motorsport history, Joey Logano is currently going through a rough patch. This is far from normal because the most successful driver in the playoff era has started to struggle in the Chase format. While struggling is not a rare sight in NASCAR, as seen with Kyle Busch, another Cup series champion, Denny Hamlin perhaps has the answer to Logano’s woes, that too with a personal example.

Denny Hamlin’s personal experience for Joey Logano’s justification

In the recent Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin took a trip down memory lane and explained how he once fell into a slump like Logano. It was the ninth year for him in the Cup Series, and for Joe Gibbs Racing, and the final year in the Chase. Hamlin shared his own experience and also showed sympathy toward Logano.

“I can feel Joey Logano,” said Hamlin. “Because I had a race like this in 2013, Michigan, I think this was the Jason Leffler car. I think this was 2013. I was last, I mean, when I say last, I might have been 33rd, 34th, something like that.”

“Very similar where Joey was laps down. Just, I mean, could not drive the damn thing. And I mean, I was hearing Ghost. Every time I enter turn 3, I’m like, oh my God, I’m going to wreck. I’m going to wreck. I got to slow down. And it’s like, I don’t know, it’s just one of those weird weekends where you miss it and when you miss it, you miss it horribly.”

Following this, Denny Hamlin revealed how he found roadblocks one after another on the racetracks. From slow pace to cautions, the issues seemed endless. Something Logano faced in the recently concluded Darlington race.

“The right front trap would like go to chords in like 30 laps. It was just horrible. And I just remember watching like William Byron, every time he’d lap me, lap somebody else, caution would come out, and I’d just get another lap down, another lap down, another lap down, and finally just add it up. But it happens. You know, I’m sure they want to shrug this one off.”

Notably, Hamlin’s concern for Logano comes after the three-time Cup Series champion failed to excel in 2026. In the first six races, Logano’s best finish has been third place, which he acquired at Daytona in February.

Following this, it has been a fall from grace for the Team Penske star. Two 15th-place finishes, one 18th-place finish, one 31st-place finish, and a recent 33rd-place finish at Darlington handed him one of the worst starts of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

With one pole, top five, and top 10, Logano has an average finish position of 19.167. Currently, he is in 16th place in the Drivers’ Standings with 139 points. As Logano failed to have a strong start to his season, his failure to extract a formidable performance at Darlington shocked many, including Kevin Harvick.

NASCAR expert blames Joey Logano for the lack of performance

While there have been questions about whether Ford’s recent struggles are to blame for Joey Logano’s poor showing, Kevin Harvick is not buying it.

Harvick noted that other Ford drivers, specifically Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric, had strong showings at Darlington.

“Joey Logano got lapped three times this weekend,” said Harvick. “That is not something that I thought that I would ever say unless he had a problem. He legitimately got lapped three times, and both of his teammates ran in the top 10 all day. Austin Cindric finished seventh (5th). So a lot of questions about things that have slowly started to be answered as far as where the performance of each manufacturer is.”

Harvick’s conclusion is somewhat true, given how Ryan Blaney delivered time and again in 2026. As a Ford driver and Joey Logano’s teammate, Blaney won a race at Phoenix and finished the Darlington race in third place. He is currently in second place in the standings with 230 points, a win, two top fives, and a top 10.