While doing my usual internet trolling tonight, I came across Tom Bowles’ weekly “Did You Notice” piece over at The Frontstretch. In it, he talks about Joey Logano’s reaction to his wild wreck this past weekend at Dover. If you haven’t seen Logano’s wreck, click here. Bowles quotes Logano as saying:
“It just really scared the heck out of me. I’m not sure I want to see a replay. It started rolling and I was in there like, ‘Damn, please make this thing stop.’ And it wouldn’t. It just kept going and going. It just startled me.”
The main point made by Bowles is that drivers are losing some of the killer instinct made famous by some of the NASCAR greats. I see his point, but what immediately jumps out at me is his admitted fear. It worries me that Logano said it, and I’m interested to see if Logano lets this affect him down the road.
I wrote a post about a year ago about drivers and fear (see it here), and Logano’s comments brought me right back to it. If they want to have any level of success in racing, a driver has to be absolutely fearless. And on top of that, they need to have a short memory. Remembering a previous wreck while taking to the track will only slow a driver down.
Don’t know what I mean by fearless? How about Rusty Wallace’s horrible crash at Daytona in 1993. He tumbled countless times down the backstretch and ended up coming to rest in a destroyed race car. He followed that up by winning the next race at Rockingham, and then added nine more victories before that season ended. And all this was well before the introduction of the modern, safer COT.
When Logano hits the track this weekend in Kansas, he needs to have forgotten that Dover ever happened. His young career will be over very quickly if he harbors this fear of wrecking and holds back. I don’t want to name any drivers here, but too many have let a bad wreck ruin what was a promising career.
NASCAR is a dangerous sport. If a driver cannot handle that, and be able to wreck and keep digging, then he needs to find something else to do. Here’s to hoping Logano pulls a reverse Jimmy Spencer and forgets everything.
Loading ...
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 1:14 am
Come on, you’re taking JL’s response out context. he was just interviewed after being released from the care center,he’s sayin’ what’s on his mind… he gave us what was wanted and he was kind enough to do just that. Throw him under the bus , but he was along for the ride. It don’t make one/him a lesser racer.
fearless/dangerous?… these boys have it easy.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 1:25 am
“You can say that drivers, we lack a certain kind of imagination.” –Grand Prix, 1966
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 5:36 am
I have to say, I think Joey is fine. I think he is an honest young man who isn’t trying to play the tough guy role like most drivers. I think he was just being honest and genuine. He was simply saying what every driver would say after a wreak like that, if only drivers weren’t trying to portray a fearless image to the media.
I don’t think he is afraid he has been wreaking in cars for a long time now. just not cup cars.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 6:41 am
I think Logano will be okay. What separates his wreck from many other spectacular crashes is that it did not result from recklessness or bad decision making on his part. It was just one of those things. Joey’s smart and reasonable, and he won’t read any more into the incident than it was one of those weird racing situations that occurs sometimes.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 7:50 am
Joey’s comment has been taken an blown up all week, not one media outlet has quoted him correctly. He said it was a wild ride and it scared him when the car stopped on the drivers side. Thats enough to scare anyone, the unknown of being able to get out of the car and the fear of somebody hitting the underside that is un-protected is huge. he said when it rolled back onto its wheels he was fine. Let get it right guys.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 8:11 am
off topic a bit but I often wonder if Junior got spooked by the big fire he narrowly escaped in that Corvette. He was balls out and won a lot before the wreck but he hasn’t won too much since. His lack of wins could be coincidental with the downward spiral of DEI and a resulting loss of his confidence after he split with them. But at his age with the potential he showed early on , and given the caliber equipment he’s in now, its hard to convince me he’s simply run out of talent or confidence at this stage of his career. I’m certainly no psychologist but in my opinion, what’s going on with him is in his head, and that fire just might have been the beginning of the end for what many hoped would be a a stellar career and continuation of the Earnhardt legacy.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 9:13 am
I read on another site where a writer questioned why the 20 team did not patch-up Logano’s car after the Dover wreck so he could cut some laps. But from my HD-TV view, it appeared that the roll cage was compromised, and my guess is, that NASCAR declared the wrecked car unsafe to drive any more that race.
If Logano was past 35 with a wife and kids (and maybe an ex-wife or two), this wreck would have probably messed him up for a while. But being just 19 or 20 with no dependents, I think the kid is a real racer at heart, thus he should be able to shake this off by the next race.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 10:00 am
Of course it scared the hell out of him. Geeze, it shook up Tony Stewart and he was just watching it.
It was an honest emotion and a recounting of what he was feeling during the incident. He didn’t say “I’m scared”, he said “It scared the hell out of me” – past tense.
Joey will be fine and probably LESS fearful on the track for having gone through this, IMO.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 12:11 pm
He’ll be ok but WE wont.
That’s all they will be talking about during this weeks broadcast. I’m betting we’ll see last weeks wreck 4 times before the race starts.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Why not name the drivers who you think let a wreck mess them up? They probably already know it anyway. Besides, it’s only an opinion.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I think that if there had been no media around and hence no quote, it would just be another wreck.
However, I cant for the life of me think why an intelligent person would strap in a race car and race at Talladega! Knowing that there is a better than 50-50 chance of being in “the big one” is not smart. So maybe JL is going to be one of the smart guys that don’t get involved in a wreck, or he is going to just switch it all off and just remember the bank account size.
That’s where you find out who are the “good” guys and why they are special.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Hey Joey ,
Welcome to big boy racing. You better have a short memory and get right back in the saddle , or you won’t be worth a damn…good luck , kid.
on Oct 1st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
He has since said that, if anything, it will help him, now he knows just how safe the cars are. Nothing but a sore neck, and he gets that with most wrecks. The boy will be fine.
on Oct 4th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Just finished watching the Nationwide Kansas race. TC, I love ya, but you’ll have to eat your words on this one. Joey showed that, according to your definition he IS fearless. He came back to win his very next race. And, I might add, he did it with what could be considered a risky pass on the outside of the Shrub. I’d also point out that he said in another interview that it actually gives him MORE confidence knowing that he can do this stuff and walk away thanks to all of the safety improvements that NASCAR has put into effect. GO JOEY!!!
on Oct 4th, 2009 at 2:42 am
Well he has a very short memory…Nice pass.
on Oct 5th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Jeanette: I don’t have to eat my words. All I said in the post was that Logano needed to have a short memory after the Dover crash, because a scared driver is an ineffective driver. Just like the afforementioned Rusty Wallace, he came out the next week and proved he wasn’t afraid. Kudos to Joey.