Joey Logano revealed that as a kid he was snubbed by Tony Stewart for an autograph and because of this he is better with young NASCAR fans.
While some drivers might not like the way Logano drivers, there is no denying that Team Penske’s No. 22 driver is a nice person outside the race tracks. This duality in Logano’s behaviour even led to Kyle Busch famously calling Logano “two-faced”.
“I don’t care how you get hurt” – Kyle Petty defends Chase Elliott and believes he should get a waiver
Among the nice things that Logano does, one of them is taking his time to greet and sign autographs. And he has a particularly bad memory because of which he decided to be so. It was when he was 8 when he approached Stewart for an autograph and Stewart didn’t stop at Logano’s request.
“He must have not had a good practice. He looked mad. But I was there with my Tony Stewart gear, and I was excited. I wanted to meet him. I ran up with my stuff, ‘Will you sign my stuff?’ And he just kind of kept walking,” Logano said.
Joey Logano told an incredible story on TMD about how he was a Tony Stewart fan as a kid. Approached him after a practice when he was 8 and Smoke didn't stop. Logano threw all of his No. 20 merch away when he got home.
10 years later: Logano's driving the No. 20 car.😂
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) February 28, 2023
Emotions are high during the race and when things don’t turn up your way, drivers can be in a very bad mood. Logano suggested that this might have been the case with Stewart but nonetheless, he also doesn’t let his emotion overwhelm him when it is with kids.
“There’s a lot of times that you get out of the race car (and) you’re just mad and angry and frustrated. And then there’s people all over you. You’re like, ‘Grrrr, leave me alone. I just want to go back and figure out why we’re not good right now.’ But that moment changed me as an adult forever.”
“Every time I see a kid, I’m like I’ve got to stop. Even if I’m late, I’ve got to stop. If you’re an adult … sorry, bud. I gotta go. But if it’s a kid, it’s just so in my head at that moment that I was so upset, and I don’t want no other kid to feel that way.”
It is a nice gesture from the 2022 Cup Series champion to bring some smiles to young fans. And it speaks a lot about his character to reflect on his past experience to make things better.