Getty Joey Logano delivers a speech at the NASCAR Awards.
Team Penske owner Roger Penske made a point at the NASCAR Awards to highlight Joey Logano‘s charitable work instead of his driving. This was something that the driver of the No. 22 appreciated considering that there are things more important than winning races.
The story in question focused on the 2018 season. Penske revealed to media members that Logano and his wife Brittany had spent the night prior to the championship race handing out turkeys to the homeless in the Homestead area. The reason for this story is that Penske wanted to highlight what kind of person Logano is away from the stock car.
“To me, it kind of means the most because your character is all you’ve got,” Logano said after hearing about Penske’s story. “That’s who you are. We don’t do it for recognition, but I also believe that attitudes are contagious.
“And sometimes you need to tell everyone what you’re doing because I think it inspires more. So I try to promote some of the things that we do. Not all the things but some of them that I think can inspire other people.”
Logano & Penske Focus on More Than Racing
GettyJoey Logano (right) has tied Martin Truex Jr. on the all-time wins list.
Logano has only driven for two teams during his full-time Cup Series career. He started with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009 and continued driving the No. 20 through the end of the 2012 season. He then moved over to Team Penske where he has remained ever since.
Logano’s deal with the championship-winning organization may have started as a business relationship, but the situation has majorly changed. He has built a strong relationship with both Roger Penske and Kathy Penske, which has included some games of backgammon on a yacht.
As Logano has grown closer with the heads of Team Penske, he has noticed some important details. One of the biggest that he mentioned is the way that Penske treats everyone in the company.
“He cares about us as people and he does it with all his employees,” Logano said. “Even when some real issues come up in people’s personal lives — I’ve seen this happen many, many times inside our company — he supports them when it’s very easy to just kick them through the door.
“And he has the right to, actually in a lot of [situations], to do it,” Logano added. “And I don’t think anyone would judge him for it, but he doesn’t do that. And that’s a big, to me, example of his character.”
Logano Sought a Long-Term Extension Because of This Relationship
GettyJoey Logano (left) wanted a long-term extension with Team Penske.
One of the storylines of the 2022 Cup Series season was Logano’s need for a new contract. The expectation was that he would remain with Team Penske, especially as he continued to deliver wins, but the team needed to put something together.
On August 24, Team Penske revealed that an extension was in place. The team announced that Logano had signed a multi-year deal that would keep him in the No. 22 “well into the future.” There were no details at the time about the number of years, but Penske said during his speech at the NASCAR Awards that it was for five.
An extension of this length is fairly rare in NASCAR, but it was ideal for Logano. As he revealed after making his own speech in Nashville, the plan all along was to get as long of a deal as possible.
“This year when they came to the table about re-signing me, I wanted to sign as long as I could,” Logano said. “Because there’s nowhere else I want to drive, and I told them that. Like, let’s go longer. Like, why wouldn’t we? This is home for me. They’ve provided a great opportunity.”
Logano was able to achieve this goal, and he responded by delivering his second Cup Series championship. Now he will head toward the 2023 season with more confidence, as well as a secure spot at Team Penske.