JUST MY TYPE
JOEY LOGANO
TROPHY HUNTER
The 25-year-old NASCAR driver won at Bristol Motor Speedway last Saturday—his third victory of the season—and is second in the Sprint Cup Chase standings.
DAN PATRICK:What's the fastest you went in the win last Saturday?
JOEY LOGANO: I think around 140 [mph]. For a half-mile track, that's getting around pretty good. We go faster at other racetracks.
DP:Jimmie Johnson said you were "damn good."
JL: Well, that's good. He's pretty damn good himself.
DP:Was Johnson your idol growing up?
JL: Jimmie got in a little bit later. Really, Jeff Gordon was my favorite driver. It's cool to race against those guys. When you're seven or eight years old and you're watching your heroes race, you dream you're going to race against them. I pinch myself a lot because I still think of when I was watching them on TV.
DP:When did you first meet Jeff Gordon?
JL: I met him in Loudon, New Hampshire, when I was eight or nine.
DP:Did you take a picture with him?
JL: Yep, picture and autograph.
DP:Isn't that weird?
JL: It is weird. A lot of the younger drivers tell Jeff that [they idolized him] when they were young. I think it makes him feel old. I don't know if he likes it so much.
DP:How do you know when a kid is going to make a good driver?
JL: It's hard to say. When you look at hockey or baseball you can tell when a kid is naturally gifted pretty early. But there are also late bloomers. In pro sports, especially racing, natural talent might get you to the top level, but it won't win you races or games.
DP:If I walked into your house, would I know what you do for a living?
JL: You would know, believe me. I have trophies everywhere.
DP:That's good to have enough trophies.
JL: Every morning I walk by my [2015] Daytona 500 trophy and make sure I see that thing.
DP:Is there a time when conflicts seem to be more than just racing and more personal?
JL: Of course. [Laughs.] Usually you see something after the race when that happens. We race the same guys every week—eventually you run into each other. Most of the time you can look back at a conflict and say that's just racing, but you still ask yourself, Would I do the same thing?
DP:No fights this year.
JL: I'm good, man. We're just winning races. I'm trying to fly under the radar.
DP:You're not going to stay under the radar winning races.
JL: That's all right with me.
GUEST SHOTS
SAY WHAT?
NBA MVP Stephen Curry had trouble enjoying a round of golf with President Obama. "I knew there'd be 25 Secret Service agents with sniper guns," the Warriors' guard said. "That's pretty nerve-racking. What if I hit an errant tee shot that hit him in the back of the head?" ... Rolling Stone contributor Matt Taibbi, a lifelong New England sports fan, described Deflategate's effect on Patriots fans: "They're like a late-stage Lenny Bruce at this point. They're completely obsessed with the injustice of it all and getting overweight and losing their sense of humor." ... I asked Seahawks QB Russell Wilson which was his best off-season acquisition: tight end Jimmy Graham or girlfriend Ciara? "I'll take both of them," Wilson said. "I have Jimmy Graham, who's 6'7" and runs a 4.5. And I have Ciara, who can dance and sing with the best of them."
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WADE PAYNE/AP (LOGANO)
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MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (PATRICK)
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ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (CURRY)
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LOUIS LANZANO/AP (TAIBBI)
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JASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES (WILSON)