A ‘mad’ Tony Stewart snub inspired ‘two-faced’ Joey Logano to be the good guy with young NASCAR fans

Joey Logano and Tony Stewart have driven for the No:20 JGR team in the Cup series.

A ‘mad’ Tony Stewart snub inspired ‘two-faced’ Joey Logano to be the good guy with young NASCAR fans

Joey Logano and Tony Stewart

Joey Logano is one of the most controversial characters in the NASCAR garage. The two times Cup series champion’s on, and off-track persona has prompted mixed opinions on him among the racing community. He is known for his aggressive driving style and win-at-any-cost mentality onplayoffshe same time, off-track, Logano is one of the most approachable drivers and a fan favorite.  

The on-track aggressiveness has earned him many names, and his most fierce rival Kyle Busch after the 2023 LA Clash, labeled him as a two-faced individual who is friendly off-track and the polar opposite during races. But one admirable thing about Logano is that even on his worst days, he supposedly finds time for young NASCAR fans and shares moments with them. His on-track aggression is part of the efforts to remain the best.

YouTube video

Logano invested time for the young fans due to a particularly bad experience; from his perspective, he had as a young fan once. He was a big fan of the then Joe Gibbs Racing No:20 car driver Tony Stewart. An eight-year-old Logano went into the fans and driver interaction area during a Cup race event in Atlanta Motor Speedway with a couple of memorabilia he wished to get signed by the legendary driver.

Tony Stewart, though, snubbed the youngster as he was potently mad at himself for the worst practice session. The incident hurt the young Logano. But that never caused any bad blood between him and Stewart once Logano made it to the Cup series, and they shared some on and off track movements. Logano drove for the No:20 JGR team for multiple years before moving to Penske. The bad memory now inspires the No:22 Mustang driver to share some times with young fans whenever possible.

In case you missed it: Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals his all-time top-10 NASCAR drivers

Joey Logano explains his first encounter with Tony  Stewart and how it changed him.

Tony Stewart and Joey Logano
Tony Stewart and Joey Logano

In an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, the 2022 Cup series champion opened up about the experience. He pointed out that he never snubs kids, even after a bad session, if they ask for his autograph, but he won’t make the same exemption for Adults.

“He must have not had a good practice. He looked mad. But I was there with my Tony Stewart gear, and I was excited. I wanted to meet him. I ran up with my stuff, ‘Will you sign my stuff?’ And he just kind of kept walking,” Joe Logano recalled.

“There’s a lot of times that you get out of the race car (and) you’re just mad and angry and frustrated. And then there’s people all over you. You’re like, ‘Grrrr, leave me alone. I just want to go back and figure out why we’re not good right now.’ But that moment changed me as an adult forever,” Logano added.

“Every time I see a kid, I’m like I’ve got to stop. Even if I’m late, I’ve got to stop. If you’re an adult … sorry, bud. I gotta go. But if it’s a kid, it’s just so in my head at that moment that I was so upset, and I don’t want no other kid to feel that way,” Logano explained.

Discover: