Confident Joey Logano tells his team that ‘we’re the favorites’

DARLINGTON, S.C. — As the Cup playoffs begin, Kyle Busch, viewed as one of the most polarizing figures in NASCAR, has been described lately as “charming,” leaving a void for the series’ most outspoken driver.

Never fear, Joey Logano is here. 

The 2018 Cup champion who seeks his fifth appearance in the title race, is comfortable telling it like he feels. Whether you agree with him doesn’t matter. Appreciate the forthrightness.

Logano enters the playoffs behind only Chase Elliott in the standings, making Logano among the favorites. 

But he sees it a little differently.

“I told my team (Wednesday) we’re the favorites,” Logano said during NASCAR’s playoff media day on Thursday. “I gave reasons for it. So I don’t feel like it’s something made up in our mind. You have to race with confidence. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t right now.”

Logano has that confidence based on the last three races in the regular season. He won a stage in each event and scored the most points in those three races combined (136).

And the playoffs open at Darlington Raceway with Sunday’s Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on USA Network).  Logano won the pole, won a stage, led a race-high 107 laps and won at Darlington in May after bumping William Byron out of the way in the final laps. The bump came in response to contact from Byron late in the event.

Logano followed that by winning the pole for Sunday’s race. Byron starts third, putting him in the row behind Logano.

Asked if there needs to be a discussion with Byron, Logano was matter of fact on Saturday.

“I don’t think there really needs to be a discussion,” he said. “I thought everything that went down here in the spring was done and over with. It’s tit-for-tat, one for the other.

“I said it before,