Dale Earnhardt Jr Addresses Joey Logano’s Playoff Comments

What’s Happening?

During the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr gave his thoughts on 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano’s

“If you scored a bunch of points during a regular season 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 have gone out there and won to get in. You didn’t.”https://t.co/kQP7rc99fJ

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 30, 2025

During a recent interview with Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano defended the current NASCAR Cup Series playoff format, which he has won all three of his NASCAR Cup Series titles.

These comments come amid backlash over his improbable win last season, in which he had the lowest average finish of any NASCAR Cup Series Champion and was at one point eliminated from contention prior to Alex Bowman’s disqualification at the Charlotte Roval. This win added to a long list of grievances fans have with the current format, and has led NASCAR to reconsider how they crown their champion.

During this interview, Logano said, “As a fan, I want to see (drivers) scared, and our playoff system now does that.” The 35-year-old also addressed the claims that his title is illegitimate, with Logano telling Gluck, “If you scored a bunch of points during a regular season and you didn’t make it to the Championship 4, then shame on you. You had a head start, and you still couldn’t do it.”

These claims of illegitimacy mostly stem from the sentiment that some fans, and even drivers, feel that winning a title under the chaotic format makes that title less valuable than those won under past formats, specifically those with a larger sample size. Logano is not the first Playoff champion to receive this criticism, nor will he be the last.

Following the release of this article, as expected, many fans chimed in with their opinions both for and against Logano’s take, and, during the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr joined the fray.

Earnhardt’s Take on the Historical Legitimacy of Logano’s Titles

After assessing Logano’s comments, Earnhardt was quick to clarify that Logano’s Championships, though he may not have been the most consistent driver through races one to 36, are legitimate. But, he was quick to note that this does not mean that NASCAR’s current elimination, single race, championship is by any means perfect.

“You can believe that Joey Logano is a legitimate champion and still believe that the playoffs should be different. 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.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The two-time Daytona 500 Champion, who is a member of NASCAR’s playoff committee, went on to say that every championship has a story, with the points format and level of competition factoring into every title in NASCAR history. Earnhardt wrapped this point around to Logano, saying that his three titles are just as unique.

“My point being that not just the playoffs and how you score points has changed, the sports evolved, every championship is unique,” Earnhardt said. “So are Joey’s.” Of course, throughout NASCAR history, there have been many ways a champion has been crowned, including the last 25 seasons, in which multiple iterations of a playoff format have been utilized.

Earnhardt, once again, then reiterated that the legitimacy of a title should not be tied to the points format, saying that even he does not support the single-race championship format, but sees the value in Logano’s titles.

Earnhardt believes this to be true even if NASCAR changes the format, saying a change should not dilute the historic value of Logano’s championships. After all, in his opinion, “There’s not a perfect system. There will never be a perfect playoff format, never.”

Despite Earnhardt’s take, it seems unlikely that Logano will remain the poster child for those opposing the current system. Nonetheless, Logano is in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, having scored a playoff-clinching win at Texas Motor Speedway in May.

NASCAR has yet to announce any changes to the current playoff format, though they have expressed that changes could still be in the works. We have covered all reports and rumors about changes to the championship format throughout the season via the story linked below.

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