Joey Logano booed during live interview after NASCAR playoff survival

Joey Logano surely suspected that his last-gasp qualification for the NASCAR Cup Series playoff Round of 8 wouldn't be the most popular development, and that suspicion was confirmed almost immediately.

Being interviewed live on the broadcast after getting out of his car post-race, Logano was barely a sentence into his first answer before being distracted by a cacophony of boos.

The reigning champion caught on pretty early that the boos were directed at him, half-turning to the crowd and telling them 'we're still alive, baby!'

Logano's progression to the next round of the playoffs hinged on a last-lap overtake by Denny Hamlin on Ross Chastain (which Hamlin appeared to regret almost immediately), meaning that the 'big three' of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske make up the entire remaining playoff field.

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Logano responds to booing fans

Speaking on Sunday evening at the Roval, he said: "Yeah, everyone was telling me how close it was going to be there, and gosh, what a – fans, is that me? Is that who they’re booing at? Oh, well. We’re still alive, baby. We’re still going. I’m so excited."

He continued: "Such a close finish there. Yeah, knew it was within a point there. I knew we were going to be tied there at the end, and Ross was going to do whatever he had to do to make it happen. Geesh, just wasn’t quite fast enough today with our car.

"It’s the drama of the playoffs. If you want drama, the playoffs bring it every time. What an entertaining finish there to come down to, like I said, a tie there basically at the end before the wreck.

"Proud of Paul Wolfe. Made some really hard calls today. Three stop in the end there, kind of an audible there at the end. Just our fall-off was a little too much. So making that call there at the end was ultimately what kept us there in the game with just a few left.

"You know, a championship performance from the team. Wish I was a little faster, but overall, I couldn’t be more proud of the team. We still got a shot."

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