NASCAR notes: The more Logano wins, the more fans he seems to lose

The typical thought process is that drivers gain more fans the more they win.

After all, most like a winner.

But Joey Logano has proven to be an exception, drawing more ire than praise in his strong season.

Logano won every race in the Contender Round, but two of those wins came with controversy. He made contact with Matt Kenseth on the final lap at Kansas two weeks ago, a move that proved to knock Kenseth out of the Chase.

Then he committed arguably racing’s cardinal sin, being declared the winner over Dale Earnhardt Jr. last week at Talladega. That certainly didn’t sit well with Junior Nation and more vitriol headed Logano’s way.

As veteran driver Jeff Gordon quipped, “That’s what happens when you ‘wrong’ Junior, especially at Talladega.”

Of all the hate he’s received on social media from fans of late, however, Logano seems unfazed by it all. He doesn’t seem to mind that he’s becoming one of the heels in the sport.

He’s more focused on becoming the first driver to win four consecutive races since Jimmie Johnson did it in 2007, and is certainly in good position after winning the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.

“It’s been a blast to drive this car,” Logano said after qualifying Friday. “It’s been so fast.”

Given his success of late, it’s no surprise that Logano is having a blast and ignoring any negativity thrown his way. But he may be kidding himself when he dismisses concerns about possible retaliation by drivers who felt he’s done them wrong.

Does he really want to see Kenseth nearby?

“We’re focused in on winning the race,” Logano said. “That’s what we can control. We can’t control anybody else’s thinking or what’s in their mind. We have to think about how we advance and how we win this weekend in particular.

“That’s what we’ve been focused on all week. We’re not going to change that.”

That’s the only mindset Logano and his team can take. And, if all goes well, he has to be the clear-cut favorite to win his first championship.

Just ask his fellow competitors.

“They’re doing everything right. They’re winning races and they’re the team to beat,” Gordon said.

Qualifying chasers

Starting on the front line with Logano will be Martin Truex Jr., another Chase contender.

Truex had a qualifying speed of 98.487 mph, and is searching for his first win at “The Paperclip.” He had a third-place run earlier this year at Martinsville, his best finish since a runner-up run in 2007.

“Honestly I didn’t know we had a car that was that fast today,” Truex said. “We stuck with it. The guys did a good job making adjustments there, and we got quicker each round. That’s what you’ve got to do.”

Gordon, an eight-time winner at Martinsville, qualified fifth and Kyle Busch will start sixth.

“I don’t think anybody had a shot at Joey really. He’s in a league of his own,” Gordon said. “But we wanted to make a big effort at it and I felt like we did.”

The rest of the remaining eight: Brad Keselowski (11th), Kevin Harvick (12th), Carl Edwards (14th) and Kurt Busch (15th).

Patrick sponsor

If there’s any thought that Danica Patrick’s lack of on-track success has diminished her value, Friday showed that it hasn’t.

Another company, TaxAct, became a primary sponsor for Patrick during four races in 2016. TaxAct sponsored two points races for Patrick this season.

Patrick has primary sponsors lined up for all 36 points races next season with Nature’s Bakery (28), Aspen Dental (4) and TaxAct (4). It’s a relief for Patrick after her primary sponsor for most of her career, GoDaddy, announced earlier this year that it would no longer sponsor her car.

“I definitely felt a little bit stressed out earlier this year, but I was fortunate enough that things came together early enough and quick enough, especially from a Nature’s Bakery perspective [in August] —they wanted to move fast for business reasons for themselves,” Patrick said Friday morning prior to practice at Martinsville Speedway.

“Things didn’t get down to crunch time to really establish and let on those deep, deep nerves that would have been more real. Time was of the essence. For sure I was nervous. There are no guarantees.”

Patrick, 33, hasn’t had a top-five run in 114 career Cup races, but is still making strides in her third full season. She has two top-10s this year, and sits 23rd in the points standings.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "NASCAR notes: The more Logano wins, the more fans he seems to lose."