When Joey Logano defended the NASCAR playoff format, he probably did not expect two of the sport’s biggest names to team up against him. But that is exactly what happened when Denny Hamlin joined Dale Earnhardt Jr. in publicly disputing Logano’s comments, with Hamlin calling the Team Penske driver’s argument fundamentally flawed. The disagreement has reignited a fierce debate about fairness and format in NASCAR’s postseason.
Why Do Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Say Logano’s Argument Is Flawed?
The controversy began earlier this month after Logano suggested that playoff eliminations are simply the result of drivers failing to perform when it counts. Earnhardt quickly countered, arguing that Logano’s stance ignores how NASCAR’s points reset can unfairly benefit drivers who struggled during the regular season. This week, Hamlin used his Actions Detrimental podcast to voice his support for Earnhardt’s rebuttal.
On his podcast, Hamlin explained his frustration with the system, stating, “It’s like all the hard work you put in, it’s just they keep resetting the scoreboard.”
Hamlin then praised Earnhardt’s takedown of Logano’s logic. “Dale Jr. had a really, really good explanation to Joey Logano’s quote,” Hamlin said. “It was that, ‘Hey, you know, if the regular season matters and you guys are up there getting all those playoff points, if you don’t make it to the final four and win, then that’s your problem. You had a head start.’”
According to Hamlin, Earnhardt pointed out the hypocrisy in Logano’s position. “Dale Jr. said he first laughed for a little while,” Hamlin continued. “He’s like, ‘You listen, I get it. However, Joey has to identify that he was more than like five races behind entering the playoffs.’”
Essentially, Hamlin argued that the very system Logano was defending had worked in his favor. By resetting the points, NASCAR erased a significant portion of Logano’s regular-season deficit, granting him a lifeline that would not have existed otherwise.
For Hamlin, Earnhardt’s analysis exposed the central weakness in Logano’s stance. “Like, NASCAR reset the scoreboard for you. That benefited you, allowed you to catch up because you were so far behind,” Hamlin explained. “Which I thought was a really good counter to the ‘well if you don’t step up in the moment it’s your fault.’”
“Yeah, I thought Dale Jr. did a fantastic job when talking about the playoff format, saying that that was a bad argument by Joey,” Hamlin concluded. “Saying that it’s your fault for not making it because you got a head start going into the playoffs, when essentially NASCAR erased your five-race deficit.”
As the playoff battle intensifies, so does the conversation about its fairness. With influential figures like Earnhardt and Hamlin challenging the defending champ’s logic, NASCAR’s postseason structure will undoubtedly continue to face intense scrutiny, both on the track and off.
