Joey Logano explains the TRICKY teammate relationship in NASCAR as everyone wants to be the ‘top dog’

Joey Logano has had some teammate tussles in the past.

Joey Logano explains the TRICKY teammate relationship in NASCAR as everyone wants to be the ‘top dog’

Joey Logano (Via IMAGO)

Defending NASCAR Cup series champion Joey Logano pointed out that the teammate relationship in Motor racing is really tricky. The two-time champion has had many falls out with teammates over the years, and for someone who made it to the premier division at a pretty young age trying to establish himself, the issues were inevitable.

Logano made his NASCAR debut with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009; he joined the team as the replacement of two-time champion Tony Stewart. His teammates were emerging talents, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Logano struggled to perform initially and even had issues with Busch. This rivalry escalated when he left the team to join Team Penske Racing in 2013.

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While discussing the issues he has seen in NASCAR over the years, he pointed out that the competition to become the number-one driver on the team is the trickiest part. Logano told NASCAR SiriusXM Radio (H&T: ProTalk), “Everybody wants to be a top dog in their company. Everyone wants to be the top guy, so that’s part of it too. It’s really tricky.”

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Joey Logano breaks down the team dynamic in NASCAR

Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano (Via IMAGO)
Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano (Via IMAGO)

Ahead of going into the big-dog claim, Logano explained how teammate relationships work in the sport. He pointed out that building such a relationship is the hardest thing to do because the drivers are often in a dilemma of helping the teammate and racing him or her for the win. More often than not, feelings can get hurt.

“Honestly, driver and teammate relationship could be one of the hardest things to do. Because you have to work together to be successful, and you have to race each other because you still want to win, and there’s feelings that get hurt there. Are you on my side or not? That’s the question that you ask a lot of times,” Logano said.

He added, “Are you on my side, or do you just want to beat me? And it gets kind of tricky in those scenarios. At least with other competitors, you know, well, they just want to beat me, and they’re not out there for me at all, and we don’t have to work together, so screw ’em all. But with your teammate, it’s different.”

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