“He ain’t even the fastest driver at Penske”: NASCAR fans react as Joey Logano joins Max Verstappen and Alex Palou on 2025 ESPYS nomination list

Joey Logano was nominated for the 2025 ESPYS Best Driver Award on Friday, June 27. However, many NASCAR fans were rather disappointed as the defending Cup Series champion joined Formula 1 stars Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, and IndyCar ace Alex Palou, who are performing comparatively better this year.

ESPN announced Logano’s nomination for the prestigious award, and that has sparked mixed reactions among NASCAR fans on X, who shared their thoughts about the selection given the Team Penske driver's recent performance.

Reacting to an X post shared by jayski.com, a section of fans suggested Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney from NASCAR for the nomination.

"WTH?!? As much as it pains me, IMHO it should be Hamlin. Logano is great, but he ain’t even the fastest driver at Penske rn," a fan wrote.

"Does anyone at ESPN watch NASCAR?" one fan asked.

"This is shameful and completely disrespectful to Kyle Larson…. I would’ve tolerated Denny or Blaney but LOGANO?????" another stated.

Logano claimed his third Cup title last season after posting the lowest average finish (17.1) in the season by any champion, and fans continued to blame the playoff format in the comments of the above post.

"This is the funniest shit I’ve seen in a while," one fan wrote.

"This is a prime example of why our championship format is a complete joke," another replied.

The ESPN award recognizes the most outstanding driving performance of the year, and the winners are decided through fan voting. 2023 NASCAR Cup champion Ryan Blaney was nominated for the award last year.

"They nominate mostly champions for that award. If someone else had won they would have been nominated," a fan explained.

This year, the ceremony will be hosted by actor Shane Gillis, will take place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on July 16 and air on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

Joey Logano gets $1 million bonus from NASCAR program

Joey Logano also received a $1 million bonus from NASCAR for topping the new Driver Ambassador Program on Thursday, June 26. The prize comes from NASCAR’s recent $1.1 billion TV deal and rewards media work, including ESPN’s First Take appearances.

Logano topped the first-term standings ahead of Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. Talking about his experience at First Take, Joey Logano said (via The Mirror):

"The media tour stuff we did this week and other drivers have been doing lately, it's all good stuff reaching out to areas we typically wouldn't be,"

Meanwhile, Logano is currently ranked 10th in the NASCAR Cup standings with one win and four top-10 finishes in the first 17 races of the season.

The Cup Series will head to Atlanta this weekend, where the 35-year-old has two wins in his last five starts. Joey Logano won the September race at the 1.54-mile track last season and the spring race there in 2023. The 2025 Quaker State 400 is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 28.