NASCAR champion rules out future Indy 500 attempt

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano confirmed that he has no interest in racing in the Indy 500 and plans to remain in stock car racing for the rest of his career.

Roger Penske earned a record 19th Indy 500 win this past May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Josef Newgarden securing his first victory in the iconic IndyCar event with just the third last-lap pass for the win in the race’s history.

For the first time in their existence, Team Penske swept the IndyCar and NASCAR Cup Series races on Memorial Day Weekend, with Ryan Blaney winning a postponed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day itself.

Not since 2014 has a driver competed in both races on the same day, when Kurt Busch became just the fourth driver to pull it off. Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series driver Kyle Larson is set to become the fifth, having signed a deal to compete for Arrow McLaren in both 2024 and 2025.

Blaney has, on multiple occasions, expressed his desire to compete in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” one day, and teammate Austin Cindric’s father Tim is the president of Team Penske, with his involvement largely coming on the IndyCar side.

Given that Team Penske are the only organization with teams in both IndyCar and the Cup Series, competing full-time for the team in one of the two series would seem to carry an inherent increased chance of running the “Memorial Day Double” at some point.

Two-time Cup Series champion and 2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano said that he has talked with his Team Penske IndyCar teammate Newgarden multiple times since his big win.

But Logano admitted that he simply has no interest in running the Indy 500 — or any IndyCar race, for that matter — and is content with where he is right now, which is where he hopes to be for many years to come.

“Yeah, I talked to Newgarden a few times,” Logano told Beyond the Flag. “We get along pretty well; he’s a good guy. Obviously a huge win for him. I don’t have any desire to drive an IndyCar, so you probably won’t see me in an IndyCar most likely.

“I’m a stock car guy. It’s what I’ve grown up doing, it’s what I love, I love NASCAR, so most likely this is what you’re going to see me do for quite a few years to come.”

The 108th running of the Indy 500 and the 65th running of the Coca-Cola 600 are scheduled for Sunday, May 26, 2024.