Joey Logano all in for $1 million All-Star Race prize
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Joey Logano won the NASCAR All-Star Race last year, but it really was a tire test for the race that had a big impact on his performance later in the year.
He won’t look for the event to have as big an impact on his 2025 season except for maybe his wallet. And that’s fine with him, as he eyes the $1 million winner’s purse that goes to the team whose car crosses the finish line first Sunday at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
“I don’t want this to sound bad,” Logano said. “I’ve raced for championships, but I race for money. What’s wrong with that? It’s a big piece of it.
“We’re incentivized to go out there and win, and I don’t see what’s wrong with that. So this race presents that opportunity.”
The three-time Cup champion is ready for whatever gets thrown his way in the All-Star race, which features track owner Marcus Smith being able to throw a caution anytime between Lap 100 and Lap 220 of the 250-lap exhibition race.
“It’s an interesting way to do it,” Logano said. “I guess the All-Star race presents an opportunity to do things outside of the box.
“I’m not really sure how I feel about that part of it, but at least we know [a caution] is coming, and we can plan around it.”
For a defending Cup champion, Logano has not gotten off to a great start in 2025. He earned his first top five of the season when he won at Texas a couple weeks ago.
The Team Penske driver is locked in the playoffs but sits ninth overall in the series standings.
“[Our season] is on the right trajectory now,” Logano said. “We’re doing much better. There’s kind of two departments — there’s a speed department and the execution department.
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“The speed department was always pretty good, but the execution department was not. And now I feel like we’re getting it back where it needs to be.”
That is different than in past years when Logano felt he didn’t have the speed but had the execution early in the year and then when they got to the playoffs, he found the speed.
“It seems like we’ve cleaned up a lot of the lot of those little hiccups now, a lot of lessons learned. So we’re stronger now than we were,” Logano said.
So maybe a win on Sunday night might give him a little bit of momentum. But Logano hopes it’s just fun (and fun for Logano is defined by winning).
“It’s a momentum type thing, maybe,” Logano said about any benefit from the All-Star race. “For the pit crew, qualifying [with a pit stop] is cool, and that’s a big piece for them trying to win the pit-stop competition.
“The race is a bit of an all-or-nothing kind of race. You’ve got nothing to lose. You can’t lose any points. You’ve got nothing to lose and a million bucks to gain. To me, it’s a pretty fun race because you can race with your hair down a little bit.”
But could there be something more to this all-star race? The all-star event has been at North Wilkesboro Speedway for three years. There is some chatter on whether the track, one of the most historic in NASCAR, should now play host to a points race.
“Would it be cool if it became a points race?” Logano said. “Sure. Is it working as an All-Star race? Yeah. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it? Maybe.
“But I also say, if you keep things the same for too long, it loses its luster a little bit, it loses its excitement. So when that happens, I don’t know, but I still feel like North Wilkesboro is bringing that excitement, and they’re doing a good job, and the fans are showing up.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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