12 Questions with Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano
Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Joey Logano, who returns to Daytona International Speedway this week for the first time since his Daytona 500 victory in February.
Q: If NASCAR allowed you to listen to music while you were racing, would you want to?
A: No. I can barely talk and not slow down — forget listening to songs and singing. (Laughs)
Q: Where did your first paycheck come from?
A: Joe Gibbs Racing. I guess my first race winnings. All the rest (before that) went to my dad, because he owned the car. (Laughs)
Q: Who is an autograph you got as a kid that seemed to be a big deal to you at the time?
A: I got Jeff Gordon's autograph, and I thought that was pretty cool. I was at New Hampshire to watch my first Cup race, and we caught him when he was leaving one of those hospitality tents on the way to the golf cart.
We were one of those people that jumped on him, like, "Hey, will you sign this autograph for me?" It was pretty cool.
Q: Where's a place you've never been that you'd like to go visit?
A: Home. (Laughs) I don't know. I like traveling, but we travel every week. So I'm fine with staying home. I don't really have any big want to go to Europe or anywhere like that. I like it here. I like hanging out with friends.
I guess I wouldn't mind it. It would be kind of cool to see it all one day, but I don't have to.
Q: Do people ever accuse you of being addicted to your phone?
A: (Wife) Brittany does.
Is she right?
Probably. But I've gotten a lot better at it. At dinners, I put my phone down unless Roger (Penske) calls. That's the one trump card. I'm like, "OK, I gotta pick up the phone. The boss man is calling!" (Laughs)
But at night, we put down the phone and talk. We do good with it now. I think that's important.
Q: If a genie promised you a championship in exchange for never being able to do your favorite hobby again, would you accept that offer?
A: Yeah. I don't really have hobbies. (Laughs)
Well, you like playing around with old cars, for example.
I'd still take that trade. For sure.
Q: What's your preferred method of dealing with an angry driver after a race?
A: Preferred way or the right way? (Laughs) I think it depends on the situation. There are so many ways to handle it, and some people say there are no right and wrong ways. But there are. I feel like I've learned from experience on the right and wrong way. But it just depends what happened.
Q: Do you ever get mistaken for another driver or celebrity?
A: Yeah, I get mistaken for Brad (Keselowski) all the time and he gets mistaken for me.
He said the same thing during his 12 Questions interview. Why do you think that happens?
I don't know, but it happens all the time. When I first signed at Team Penske, especially when I had a Discount Tire suit on, everyone would always think that.
Brad said he signs "Joey" when people call him your name. Do you sign "Brad?"
Not yet. I should. (Laughs) I just look at them like, "I've got a name tag right here." (Points to waistline) It's easy to know.
Q: If you had a time machine and you could travel to any year and race, where would you go?
A: I think the early 90s were pretty cool. That's when I first started watching NASCAR races, so that's probably why I think it was cool.
But you also think about the era of the Allisons and Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough, and that seems like the golden years. You hear those stories about how they developed their cars and raced and traveled around the country, and when you hear that you're like, "That must have been awesome."
But I wasn't alive to watch it, so I don't know that. I was alive to watch it in the 90s, so I know that part.
I like what we're doing now though. As long as I'm winning, that's the era I want to be in. (Laughs)
Q: Would you rather have the ability to fly or be invisible?
A: Ooh. (Thinks for a moment) I'll pick invisible.
Why?
You'd see a lot of things you don't normally see and hear a lot of things you don't normally hear. You would know everything!
I mean, we've got airplanes to fly. I can do that every week. (Laughs)
Q: I've been asking each person to give me a question for the next interview. The last interview was with AJ Allmendinger, and he wanted to know: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Chicken parm. Easy question.
It's that good?
It's amazing. It's a gift from God. (Laughs)
Q: And do you have a question I can ask the next driver?
A: How often do you talk in the car without hitting the (radio) button in the race? That'd be a good question. (Laughs)
Q: Finally, how did this interview go on a scale of 1-10?
A: I thought it was a 10. It doesn't get any better than this. If there was an 11, I'd give it an 11. (Laughs)
Now you're just pouring it on.
If there was a scale of infinity, I'd give it infinity. (Laughs)
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck