Published 02/17/2023, 12:52 PM EST
At some point in every athlete’s career, they face a wall so high that crossing it generally tends to become the differentiator between them being good and being a champion. Joey Logano faced such a wall in his career at one point too.
Before he was a two-time NASCAR champion, the Team Penske driver was faced with external criticisms which affected his self-image to the point where he felt his career was over.
This phase for Logano was one which he considers today as the most difficult moment in his career.
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Logano “cried like a baby” after coming face-to-face with the bitter reality
Speaking to Graham Bensinger in a recent interview, Joey Logano opened up on the difficult part of his career which had him not only doubting himself but left him in a pretty tough spot.
“My lowest point…I think I had NASCAR radio on, and they were talking about me, talking about all these things like I wasn’t that good and that I’m gonna be replaced by (Matt) Kenseth and all these things that I already knew, but it was like, it was just that moment…it was…that was it,” he recalled.
When asked how he dealt with this realization, Logano revealed he “cried like a baby.”
“I thought my career was over, I was talking to Britney and I was like, I don’t know what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life,” he continued. “I’m not gonna be a NASCAR champion like I wanted to be.”
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 29: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, enters his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2021 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Joey Logano on what he learned from this phase of his career
Of course, we all know Logano came out of that phase and came out quite strong as his two Cup championships clearly prove. Today, he’s regarded as one of the modern greats.
So naturally, he didn’t reach where he is without learning lessons from where he was.
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“It’s the biggest piece of humble pie I could’ve eaten, and now I’ve learned how to win, I’ve learned how to lose more importantly. Those four years of my life were the moments that have completely shaped who I am,” Logano said of ‘that’ phase in his career.
As for if he’d be who he is today without going through what he did, he simply said, “Not a chance.”
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“I’m a way better racecar driver now, a way better person now because of that,” Logano added.