Joey Logano Claims He Was The “Second Most Popular” Driver at Mexico City

Team Penske star Joey Logano was surprised by his massive popularity amongst fans during NASCAR's Mexico weekend.


Joey Logano Claims He Was The “Second Most Popular” Driver at Mexico City

Joey Logano (via Imagn)

NASCAR had a massive outing in Mexico last weekend. The Cup Series made its debut at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with thousands of local fans attending the weekend. While most cheered for local hero Daniel Suarez, Team Penske’s Joey Logano declared that he received quite a fanfare as well.

The race weekend in Mexico City was a big move by NASCAR. The sport was able to be exposed to a new audience, outside of the US market. Critics expected that Mexican fans might be new to the sport as they attend the race, it seems that everyone in the stands had done their homework before making their way to the circuit.

Joey Logano applauded the sheer passion of fans for NASCAR in Mexico. The 35-year-old insisted that the crowd essentially knew every driver in the field, something that might not have been expected by anyone in the garage.

More notably, Logano claimed that he was undoubtedly the second most popular NASCAR driver in all of Mexico. The Team Penske star accepted that Daniel Suarez was far ahead in terms of fan following. However, Logano was confident that he was firmly the next biggest name in the field. this left the 35-year-old speechless when he first made this discovery.

Oh dude, these people are passionate. Like they were diehard NASCAR fans and knew everyone. Like they knew the whole field. Here’s a surprise for everybody, I’m like the second most popular driver in Mexico. [After] Daniel Suarez, I’m a distant second, but I’m second. I didn’t know what to think guys.

Joey Logano told SiriusXM

Joey Logano recalled seeing his sponsor Shell’s banners during the driver parade with Car No. 22 on the signs. The Team Penske star was over the moon to see such a positive reception, which he had not expected to receive in a place like Mexico City.

[In the driver parade] There was a ton of Shell stuff everywhere. People with signs, ’22-Joey Logano.’ All this stuff, people love me here! Don’t know why, I love them too. I really didn’t know what to think, I didn’t know how to handle it, it was a very unique situation for me.

Joey Logano added.

Joey Logano pinpoints ‘huge deal’ for Mexican NASCAR fans

The last race was no ordinary weekend for NASCAR fans in Mexico. Thousands of viewers got the chance to experience the race live, and see none other than Daniel Suarez clinch victory in the Xfinity Series, making the weekend even more memorable. Joey Logano was full of praise for the atmosphere on the track, as he could see how important the weekend was for the crowd.

Joey Logano (via Imagn)
Joey Logano (via Imagn)

Logano made a clever comparison to highlight the significance of this weekend. The 35-year-old claimed that the Mexico race was similar to the entire field going inside a fan’s house. He highlighted that it must’ve been a surreal experience for everyone on-track as they had only watched the race on TV previously. Joey Logano even claimed that fans would’ve likely attended all three days of the weekend.

It’s great, like such great fans. Like people that.. I guess I understand it right, if you were a NASCAR fan and we came to your home. That’s a huge deal, like they never get to see NASCAR racing live, this is their first opportunity, if they see it on TV every weekend. Gosh, it’s pretty cool when you see it in-person for the first time. I mean the people that had tickets, I think they were there all three days, like just ready for it.

Joey Logano explained

The Cup Series’ debut was undoubtedly a success for NASCAR. The weekend showed that the sport has a positive reception even outside the US. This can open doors for further expansion in Mexico in the near future, or even other countries. Though, NASCAR has not revealed any such plans at the moment. Fans in Mexico would hope that they get to see the stock car series back in their country next season.

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