Joey Logano has a theory for why NASCAR fans have booed him during pre-race intros and after the various Cup Series races on the schedule.
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The three-time Cup Series champion provided the comments during an appearance on the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast. He explained to hosts Freddie Kraft, Tommy Baldwin, and Karsyn Elledge that one reason is that he hails from the Northeast.
He also had some major run-ins with the biggest names in racing early in his career.
"I think there's multiple things — because I've had a lot of years to think about this, and I've realized there's no coming back from it," Logano said.
"But I think one of it's where I'm from, because I've noticed as I travel further south to races, I get booed more, so I think there's a little bit of that.
"I think the way I came into the sport with a lot of hype, and I was supposed to be all this, I think that was a piece of it. Guilty, I was very cocky and arrogant as a youngster when I came into the sport, and I picked fights with legends. Like Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kesenth, all these guys, I picked some good ones to go after, and they had a huge fan base.
"So if someone fights your driver- and Tony Stewart had a lot of freaking fans, and when he says - I forgot what he said about me, but a lot of things that were really nice. ...
"And when you have that many fans, they're on his side, and then you're screwed, and you're that forever.
"Everybody can look back when you were 19 and say, 'I probably shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have done that, I regret this, I regret that.' And yeah, you got to live with those consequences your whole life, but boy, I'm really living with a lot of it."
To the point about the hype, Logano famously earned the nickname of "Sliced Bread" early in his career. He became the person that many viewed as the next big thing in NASCAR.
He achieved some success early in the lower racing series, but he didn't initially live up to the "Sliced Bread" moniker. He struggled at Joe Gibbs Racing and only won two races after replacing future Hall of Famer Tony Stewart in the No. 20.
Logano lost his ride and thought that his career ended, only for Roger Penske to throw him a lifeline.
Since joining forces with Penske, Logano has become one of the biggest brands in NASCAR. He has won 36 Cup Series races and three championships. He has driven the most recognizable car on the grid — the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford.
Some of his wins have been viewed as "flukes," such as a using fuel strategy to survive five overtimes at Nashville Superspeedway. Yet, he has continually proven he could rise to the occasion when a championship was on the line.
He has continued to butt heads with various drivers on the track, to the point that Kenseth wrecked him at Martinsville and the late Kyle Busch punched him at Las Vegas.
He has also done a major amount of charitable work while helping children or communities affected by disasters.
Much like many other drivers who competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, Logano has found a way to split the fanbase. He certainly has his supporters, but he is well aware that he has many, many critics.
