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Joey Logano ruffled some feathers of race fans and those in the industry when he called fans “Spoiled” by the amount of access they have to the drivers. Logano went onto Sirius XM NASCAR Radio to clarify those comments.
Joey Logano went onto Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on December 6th, where he said, “Our fans are spoiled” when it comes to access to the drivers. He went on to talk about the kind of access fans are given to drivers compared to other sports.
Those comments were not taken well by many. People decried that Logano used the word “Spoiled” to describe race fans. People such as Brett Griffin on “Door Bumper Clear” and Carson Hocevar in the comments on the above X post sounded off on their disagreement with Logano’s characterization of both fans and their access to the sport’s stars.
Looking at Logano’s comments, there are two basic topics that Logano brings up. First, he emphasizes the great access that he feels race car drivers give race fans along with the efforts he makes to give fans access. Secondly, he talks about what frustrated him about the responses to his original comments.
Access Drivers Give Fans
I was saying that, as race fans, and I’m including myself, don’t have much room to complain on that subject. Is it hard being a race fan from other standpoints? 100%. Weather is always a challenge, no doubt. Cost of being a race fan is expensive. Camping, hotel, tickets, it’s not cheap to go to a NASCAR race is not cheap. But, I will say that we give great access to our fans.
Joey Logano
Logano believes that the drivers give great access to race fans. It doesn’t seem he’s walking back the original message he tried to send, rather, he is trying to explain it more sensitively.
The question is, is the access really that good at the race track? Not everyone agrees that the access is that good. Fans can find a way to meet their favorite driver, but it usually takes good planning, or spending extra money on infield tickets or a pit pass along with maybe some connections via a VIP pass. Still, the drivers are available, even if it takes some maneuvering.
Logano does clarify later on the efforts that he makes to give fans access. He emphasizes that these efforts outside of the race track are for the everyday race fans, not just the special guests.
I might not be able to meet every single race fan at the race track, it’s impossible, I can’t do it. But, I get as many as I possibly can. I do a lot of appearances away from the race track that fans are able to come to, the public fans, not just special access stuff, anybody can come and meet me and say hello, and a lot of other race car drivers do that.
Joey Logano
This offers a good driver perspective for fans. Logano and other race car drivers are there to do a job, and they can try to meet as many race fans as they can. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to meet all of them, and Logano mentioned during the interview that he made 20 public appearances away from the track in 2023. From Logano’s perspective, he’s trying the best he can.
Is it enough, however? That is the question fans tend to dispute.
What “Frustrated” Logano
It was pretty frustrating to here where this went because I feel like I try to do so much for the sport because I love it and I care about the people in it. It’s why I’m on the driver advisory council because I want to make it better. I don’t get paid to do that, I do it because I want to make it better for the next generation, of not just racers but race fans. I do the show, I did 20+ fan appearances away from the race track last year. When I heard some undereducated people saying about what I am and what I do and attacked me, it was really frustrating and made me mad. I thought, maybe I need to clear this up.
Joey Logano
In the middle of the clip, Logano made the above comment. He talked about all of the things he tries to do to make the sport better.
It’s easy to see why Logano would make the effort he does to make the sport better. If a driver is racing in NASCAR, they likely love the sport and want to see it succeed. On top of that, Logano is a part of the sport, and the better the sport does, the better for him.
It helps fans to understand the effort he puts forth to give fans access. It is very difficult to please every single race fan and sign every single autograph at the race track.
Does that mean access at the track is perfect? Not every fan believes that access at the race track is as open as people claim. Ultimately, those are the ones whom the “Access” is trying to cater to.
Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut dove deeper into the comments Logano made. Logano specifically mentioned the comments made about him on “Door, Bumper, Clear”. Logano alleged that the “Spoiled” comments were taken out of context.
Here is what I said: I said our race fans are spoiled because of the access they get compared to other sports and that got taken out of context as ‘Joey Logano says race fans are spoiled’ and that’s what not what I said at all. What I meant to say and what I did say is that the access race fans get is incredible. And I love it, by the way, because remember, before every race car driver was a race car driver, they were a race car fan and I remember being a child going to the race track and meet my race car driving hero.
Joey Logano via Matt Weaver
Freddie Kraft, co-host of “Door Bumper Clear” took particular exception to Logano claiming the quote was taken out of context. He said Logano had a “Poor Choice of Words”. Weaver also said that Brett Griffin is willing to have Logano on the show to talk about the issue.
Now, Logano very clearly said “Race fans are spoiled”, and he said it specifically in the context of driver access. Is it fair to say his comments were taken out of context? Maybe some interpretations did, but, Logano clearly called fans spoiled.
Was it a poor choice of words like Kraft said? Calling an average race fan “Spoiled” does not look good coming from a race car driver. Still, as we already discussed, Logano’s larger point is worthy of discussion.
Do you agree with Logano’s clarified comments? Should NASCAR improve access to drivers at the race track?
