Joey Logano Uses Bubba Wallace Example to Explain Ruthlessness and Uncertainty of New Championship Format

Three times NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has shared his thoughts on how uncertain the championship is at the moment.

Joey Logano Uses Bubba Wallace Example to Explain Ruthlessness and Uncertainty of New Championship Format

Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano (Via IMAGO)

One of the major changes NASCAR made coming into the 2026 season is the new championship format that will feature the original chase system with the ten-race single playoff round, marking an end to the win-and-in system. So, coming into the year every driver has been working twice as hard to have a strong start.

Unfortunately for Joey Logano, the most successful driver in the playoff era, the new season has been a nightmare. He winless, is sitting P12 in the points table with two top-5 finishes and pole being his most positive results. But the veteran hasn’t lost his hope yet, as he determined to grind his way back to the top.

No, I’m not okay with it. We shouldn’t be okay with it either. But you know, I mean, the points are where they are, right? There’s not much you can do about it right now, about the past. You just got to keep grinding and moving forward. There’s a long ways to go in the season.

Joey Logano said via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Further talking about the point, he admitted that it is going to take him many races to catch up on leader Tyler Reddick with the right car, but the top-5 in the table is an immediately achievable goal. Joey Logano has to string together a set of consecutive top-5 finishes to get back into the top-5 and for a three times Cup champion it’s an achievable call.

Obviously, I think everyone knows [Tyler] Reddick is a long ways out there, but to get back up to the top five is not something that’s not achievable, it’s right there in front of us, it’s still pretty dang close. I mean, you string together a couple of strong races, you’re right back in the top five before you know it because it is close right now.

Joey Logano added.

He made a case for himself using Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing as an example. The No:23 Toyota driver was driving consistently while his teammate Reddick was winning races, before he lost him momentum two races ago. With two bad runs, he got dropped from P2 to P11. It showed how close and competitive the championship battle is under the new format.  

I mean, for example, look at Bubba [Wallace]. Bubba was second in the points two races ago (he’s now 11th). It changes really, really quickly, especially because we’re still early in the year and the points are still fairly close.

Joey Logano asserted.

Kevin Harvick questions Joey Logano’s 2026 form

Ex-racer Kevin Harvick is one of the many senior figures of the sport that is worried about Joey Logano’s performance. In the latest episode of his podcast, the veteran highlighted how the three times champion would be doubting himself over the poor run. But the 2014 champion also pointed out that the good run he had at Martinsville will be a positive they can bank on.

Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano (via IMAGO)
Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano (via IMAGO)

No matter how many championships you’ve won or how many races you’ve won, when you have a race where you get lapped three times, you’re like, that’s tough. Am I doing something wrong? Can I still do this? Being able to switch it into the next week and be able to dig down deep and have that finish at a racetrack, that’s 14 straight top 10 finishes for him at Martinsville. They qualified up front and ran up front pretty much the whole day. That’s how you rebound from getting lapped three times.

Kevin Harvick said.

The comments from the champion driver are on point and shows how unpredictable the 2026 season is going to be for Joey Logano, who at the moment isn’t the bets racer at Team Penske with Ryan Blaney taking over. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the star driver in the coming race weeks.

Also Read: Mark Martin Warns NASCAR Against Giving Rockingham a Cup Date Too Early