Joey Logano knows what it’s like to lose a race because of tire strategy. Last year at Richmond, he found himself on the wrong end of Austin Dillon’s aggressive moves. In the final set of corners, Dillon bulldozed Logano’s No. 22 into the wall and hooked Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 to steal the win. Logano was furious. “He can come from five car lengths back and completely wreck someone—and we’re going to call that racing?” he fumed post-race. His frustration didn’t stop there. Logano burned out his tires in front of Dillon’s pit crew, earning himself a $50,000 fine. Despite all the unfortunate history, Logano entered 2025 optimistic about Goodyear’s latest tire experiment.
NASCAR introduced the option tire, a softer compound with more grip but faster wear. The goal was to improve racing at short tracks, particularly at Phoenix, where the championship race is held. Logano supported the change. He told Bob Pockrass ahead of the Phoenix race, “I kind of like the option thing… Some people see it as possibly gimmicky, but I don’t see it that way at all. I do think it’s better for the sport.” But after the Phoenix race, his stance became murkier.
Logano now finds himself stuck in the middle of one of NASCAR’s biggest debates. The option tire was meant to add excitement and strategy, but did it go too far? His latest comments suggest he’s torn.
Joey Logano finds himself on fences!
The 2025 Phoenix race put Goodyear’s option tire to the test. Teams were given two sets of softer option tires that offered extra grip but wore down faster. This forced teams to balance speed with tire management, adding a strategic layer to the competition. Logano, a key beneficiary of the new tire, still struggled to make up his mind.
“Having the option tire, I think, is kind of cool because there’s a lot of comers and goers. There’s a lot of strategy, a lot to the chess match… But on the other hand, the cars that are the fastest aren’t earning the most points. And does that seem fair?.. It’s almost like road course racing with the stages, where everyone flips the stages, and you have some guys stay out and grab the points. This is even more extreme than that, right? So, I don’t know. I don’t know if I like it or not. I don’t know,” he said in an interview with SiriusXM Radio.
From #BehindTheWheel this week with @joeylogano
How does the 3X and defending champion feel about option tires being used moving forward?
“I don’t know if I like it or not.”
Full hour with the @Team_Penske driver → https://t.co/keYsFmuVzu pic.twitter.com/n4YkifQrs2
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) March 19, 2025
Ironically, Joey Logano was one of the biggest winners of the option tire. He had been hit with a restart violation on lap 18 in the Phoenix race, dropping him to the back. But his team made a bold call, putting him on the softer tire at the start of Stage 2. The strategy worked. He sliced through the field, using the extra grip to regain lost positions. By the time the stage ended, Logano was back in contention. However, this limited his ability to push his car late in the race, leading to a 13th-place finish. Logano also reflected on Ty Dillon’s strong run in Phoenix as an example of his claim.
Logano added, “The 10 [Ty Dillon] went down a lap early in the race. Was not a very fast car. All of a sudden, they’ve saved tires, did the right things, and boom, they’re like top-3! Kudos to them… But at the same time, you got a car that wasn’t really that fast taking points from a faster car.” Using the tire strategy that Logano speaks about, Ty Dillon was able to notch up his 2nd highest finish for the season at 16th place, just three spots behind Logano!
However, Goodyear saw the Phoenix race as a success. The option tires did exactly what they were designed to do—create passing opportunities and force teams into tough strategic decisions. “We saw drivers make their way through the field in ways that wouldn’t have been possible with just the primary tires,” a Goodyear spokesperson said. Notably, apart from Dillon, Ryan Preece also took full advantage.
After pitting early for the softer tires, Preece rocketed from 29th to third in just one stage. Austin Cindric and Erik Jones followed a similar strategy, driving into the top 10 late in the race. The option tire clearly worked. Despite this, Logano remains torn. He knows the softer tires added excitement but questions whether they devalue pure speed. “To some, that feels a little gimmicky, right?” he admitted. It’s a dilemma that NASCAR will need to address before the championship race at Phoenix. However, Logano currently faces some serious issues especially after a bizarre pit stop in Las Vegas.
Denny Hamlin feels bad for Logano
A week after the Phoenix race, Joey Logano and his Team Penske crew faced a bizarre pit stop moment in Las Vegas. He had led for 40 laps and was in position for a strong finish. But on Lap 244, Noah Gragson’s issue brought out a caution, forcing Logano to make one final pit stop. That’s where everything went wrong. Logano missed his marks entering the pit box, making it difficult for his crew to service the car.
He lost valuable time and fell outside the top 10. By the time the checkered flag flew, he had to settle for 15th. It was a brutal ending to a race where he had fought back so hard. Denny Hamlin, who has had his fair share of battles with Logano over the years, felt genuinely bad for him. Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said, “That was a killer for them. They were going to be contenders, challenging Josh Berry for the victory.”
Hamlin explained why Logano’s mistake was costly. “Vegas has polished concrete boxes, which are very slick. Some pit boxes have more grip, but not here. If you don’t come in straight, you hit the brakes, lock up the fronts, and slide. That’s what happened.” Notably, Logano’s Vegas incident only added to what has been a frustrating start to the 2025 season. He has yet to crack the top 10 in five races. While it’s eerily similar to last year—where he struggled early but won the Cup Series title—he knows he can’t afford too many more mistakes.
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