“The only well-kept secret in NASCAR” - Joey Logano talks about champions tradition started by Jimmie Johnson, which he'll pass on to Ryan Blaney

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano recently said he will hand over the "secret" champion's journal to his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. The latter has been crowned the 2023 Cup champion.

The passing over of the Cup Series champion’s journal was a tradition started by NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Jimmie Johnson in 2010.

Johnson initiated the process by handing over the book with a message to 2011 champion Tony Stewart. The existence of the ritual became public only after Johnson transferred the journal to Martin Truex Jr. in 2017.

Logano considers the possession of the secret journal one of the coolest aspects of becoming a Cup Series champion. The #22 Penske driver opened up about the tradition on SiriusXM radio, where he said:

"I think the championship journal is to me one of the coolest things about winning the championship, because it is the only well-kept secret in our sport. There is not many secrets in our sport. And that championship journal is something that is talked about but never seen, like nobody knows about this book.

"It's like a myth, nobody ever puts their hands on it or ever gets to read it besides the champion and that's what makes it so special."

Joey Logano also thanked seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson for starting the tradition. He chuckled at the fact that the former Hendrick Motorsports driver would have been writing messages to himself when he dominated the sport, winning consecutive titles between 2006-10.

"We have Jimmie Johnson to thank for this, Johnson started it and I mean there was a point [when] he had to write some messages to himself... seeing him win over and over again."

Ryan Blaney will inherit the champion's journal and will possess it until his time as the reigning champion ends.

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Joey Logano wishes the journal tradition started decades ago

The NASCAR Cup Series champion's journal has changed hands several times over the past decade. Jimmie Johnson (2013, '16), Joey Logano (2018, '22), and Kyle Busch (2015, ’19) are the only champions to claim the book twice.

Brad Keselowski (2012), Kevin Harvick (2014), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Chase Elliott (2020), Kyle Larson (2021), and now, Ryan Blaney have been lucky enough to get a glimpse of the journal.

Joey Logano said he wished the tradition began decades ago, as he could have read about the legends of the past.

"I wish it went back further. It started when Jimmie was winning all those championships. It's so cool to read from legends of the sport writing a message to another legend of the sport," Logano said.

"Imagine if this started back in the 60s or even later. How cool would that be? So I gotta think, 'Hey, 40 years from now, how bada** is it gonna be to go through," he added.