Livid Dale Jr. Shreds Joey Logano’s ‘Scared Drivers’ Championship Claims to Pieces

Dale Jr. has never shied away from expressing his views about Joey Logano’s success. It was during Chicago last month that Jr. didn’t hesitate to call Logano a jerk amid the feud between Ross Chastain and Joey Logano. This time, however, it isn’t another driver involved; it is about the very own NASCAR playoff system. The system isn’t just debated; it is the sport’s centerpiece of conflict. Joey Logano’s 2024 championship rides squarely on that structure, so why would he want to change it? Yet here he is, badly defending the format that crowned him, while NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t fully on board with the Team Penske star’s views.

Logano didn’t just defend the playoff format; he owned it. In a recent interview, he delivered a blunt message: “If you scored a bunch of points… and you didn’t make the Championship 4, shame on you. You had a head start, and you still couldn’t do it. Don’t say it’s not legit. You could’ve gone out there and won to get it. You didn’t.” He went further, admitting the format pissed him off, but he is ready to face it. He then adds, “Change it? Fine. We’ll go win it again.” Logano’s third title wasn’t built on regular-season dominance; it was forged in the high-stakes crucible of playoff pressure. He entered the postseason ranking 15th, with just one win in the first 26 races. But when it mattered, he struck: clutch performances, won rounds, and unseized the championship when everyone else flickered. It is exactly the kind of finish the current format rewards, and Logano thrives under that kind of pressure.

But Dale Earnhardt Jr. has his very own diplomatic view without hurting the No. 22 driver’s sentiments. On today’s episode of his Dale Junior Download podcast, he said, “So the only thing, like I think first thing I want to say is this. You can believe that Joey Logano is a legitimate champion and still believe that the playoffs should be different. So, I think that Joey is a legitimate champion. I think that Joey’s trophies that he has in his possession are as cool and as real, and as historic as any other champion in our series ever. All through the history of NASCAR, every championship has been won under a different set of circumstances.” 

But this debate didn’t start with Joey Logano. Matt Kenseth in 2003 clinched the NASCAR championship with just one race win all season, despite consistent top 10 finishes and leading the points for 33 races. Title victory, seen as underwhelming after dominating figures like Ryan Newman, who had eight wins that year but finished sixth, prompted a radical shift in NASCAR’s approach to crowning its champion. The following year, the playoff system, originally dubbed The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, was introduced to put greater emphasis on wins and create more excitement in the championship battle. Although NASCAR later clarified that the changes aimed to promote winning rather than directly penalize Matt, his 2003 championship is widely credited—or blamed—as the spark behind the playoff system that was introduced. And Logano followed suit. He secured his playoff spot with a win at Texas Motor Speedway, his only win so far in 2025.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. points out that NASCAR today is nothing like its break-off past. He says, “Right now we have, oh, it’s tough. You know, it’s way more competitive. My point being that not just the playoffs and how you score points has changed. The sports evolved. Every championship is unique. So are Joey’s. But I don’t think that the single-race format is the best way to decide the champion. It doesn’t mean that Joey doesn’t deserve to be celebrated. And it doesn’t mean that if they were to change it, it doesn’t really dilute or take away from what he accomplished. What’s done is done.”

Yet, despite the drama of the current format, he questions whether a single race finale is the ideal decider. That doesn’t diminish what Logano achieved, but Junior suggests that widening the final sample size might better reflect season-long merit without sacrificing excitement. And now, as Joey Logano fires away about the NASCAR community’s championship callout, he sees himself struggling after the first round of 16.

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