NASCAR Cup Series champion says playoffs are 'least enjoyable' part of year

NASCAR fans are hyped for the 2025 Cup Series playoffs, but three-time champion Joey Logano is not really feeling it.

You might think the postseason is the most exciting time of the year for Logano - who won it all in 2018, 2022 and 2024. But you would be entirely wrong.

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Instead, the 35-year-old has a very different relationship with a period which has seen him reach the greatest heights possible in the sport. For him it is exhausting, and not much fun.

Logano on playoff season

Speaking to ESPN, the No. 22 Ford driver said: "It's the most grueling, maybe most unenjoyable time of the year. But it's also the time that has the biggest reward, and the time you get to show up and show what you and your team are made out of and make big moments.”

While Logano does not enjoy the key Fall races, he says he’s finding a way to make peace with it, the result being a kind of love-hate relationship.

“I would assume it's good for the whole sport because it's when you get the big moments and drama,” he admitted.

“So as a fan, you've got to love it, but as a competitor, you have to learn to love it because really cool things can happen. Really bad things can happen, too, but the fact that you have the opportunity to do something big is cool."

Current postseason format should stay

While Logano may not be a fan of the concept of postseason action, one thing he is on board with is the current playoff format. Many fans and analysts believe that is because it has helped him claim three titles (he finished the regular season 15th in 2024), a claim he refutes.

"I love it. I know people say, 'Oh, it's because it works for you.' I know. Sure. But I do think it's very exciting."

Logano will begin his bid for a fourth Cup Series championship in seven years when the 2025 playoffs begin this Sunday night in Darlington (6pm Eastern). He starts the postseason in 12th place in the standings.

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