NASCAR champion Joey Logano shuts down any retirement talks ahead of Dover Cup race

Defending NASCAR champion Joey Logano shared his thoughts on retirement amid his 17th Cup Series season. The 35-year-old veteran explained that as long as he's winning, he will continue to go out on the track and compete.

Logano ran his rookie season with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009 before moving to Team Penske four years later due to underwhelming performance. Under Roger Penske's team, the Connecticut native consistently fought for wins, leading to championship-winning seasons in 2018, 2022, and 2024.

In an interview at Dover Motor Speedway, the 37-time Cup race winner said that he won't consider walking out of the sport, given that the victory lane is still within reach.

“I always say as long as I can win,” Logano shared.

“I really feel like that’s the standard for me. I love racing, but I really love winning a lot more. If I can go race other things and win, I’ll go and do that, but my dream has always been to be a NASCAR driver, be a NASCAR champion, and if I can win and be a help to my team, then I want to stick around,” he added.

Joey Logano stated that he doesn't want to be the type of driver who races despite his best years being behind him. For now, retirement is not his focus, considering he still feels driven, saying:

“Something changes at some point, but, right now, I still feel as fresh as ever. I feel as sharp as ever. I'm driven as much as ever. I still care. I still get emotional about things, so that shows me I care a lot.”

Joey Logano drives the #22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske - Source: Imagn

This year, Logano has only scored one win in 20 races as a reigning champion. He has also amassed two top-5s and five top-10s, enough to rank 11th in the points standings behind his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney.

His next race at Dover Motor Speedway will commence on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. He has yet to win around the 1.0-mile Delaware oval track, where he suffered a big crash after rolling over multiple times during his rookie season.

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“I've always had high expectations for myself”: Joey Logano on his accomplishment after crashing at Dover in 2009

Joey Logano was asked whether he thought of accomplishing so much after crashing at Dover Motor Speedway 16 years ago. While the three-time NASCAR champion felt like he didn't do enough at times, he has always set high expectations for myself, which led him to some level of success.

In the same interview, Logano said:

“In the middle of the wreck, I was just hoping to get stopped and I wasn't gonna be hurt [...] It just kept going and going, but I guess I've always had high expectations for myself.”

“I just really felt like there would have been more because that's what I expect out of myself,” he concluded.

Joey Logano driving the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover Motor Speedway in 2009 - Source: Getty

Logano is the 10th NASCAR driver to win three championships, making him the driver with the most titles in the current grid. His 37 career victories rank 23rd on the all-time list.