Joey Logano is no different from any other Team Penske driver in understanding the significance that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway plays in company history. He is well aware of the expectations Roger Penske (pictured at left, above, with Logano) has for his drivers, not just to run well but to win at the Speedway. And he knows that like clockwork, there will be questions about those very things whenever the Brickyard 400 is next on the calendar.

But Logano is also comfortable enough to acknowledge that driving for Penske does nothing to change his desire to win one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races. In fact, the three-time Cup Series champion is not afraid to admit that he’s selfish when it comes to Indianapolis.

“I always wanted to win here; it didn’t change much (driving for Penske),” Logano said Friday after giving a handful of media members a tour of the Team Penske section of the newly renovated IMS Museum. “I remember the first time I came here was for a test, I made a lap, and I was like, ‘Whoa. This is so cool just to go around the place.’ So, it hasn’t changed much.

“I put the same amount of pressure on myself to win. Obviously, I want to win for Roger everywhere, and I want to continue the things that he’s built here, adding to this exhibit. But I want to win the Brickyard for me. That’s one that, for me, is on the list. I get we all enjoy it, but I have a selfish motive behind this race a little bit, that I really want to win.”

What does he mean by selfish motive?

“Because it’s Indy,” Logano said. “Every driver wants to win here. You have to win at Daytona, and you have to win at Indy. It’s just something that you want to know what it feels like.”

In addition to his championships, a 2015 victory in the Daytona 500 appears on Logano’s resume. But it is the only crown jewel win Logano has to date. Charlotte, home of the Coca-Cola 600, and Darlington, where the Southern 500 is held, have eluded Logano, as has Indianapolis.

Logano has made 13 starts at Indianapolis, nine of them in a Ford for Penske. All of the laps he’s led at the Speedway – 80 – have been behind the wheel of a Penske car. The closest he’s come to winning a Brickyard 400, which by the numbers were second-place finishes in 2015 and ’19, and other top-five finishes in 2014 and ’17, were, yes, in a Penske car.

Penske, who has dominated the Indianapolis 500 in open-wheel racing, has a lone Brickyard 400 win to his name. Brad Keselowski accomplished the feat in 2018.

“I’m human: I get jealous every time I see someone kiss the bricks because I haven’t done it,” Logano said. “I want to know what that feels like. I’m human, too, and I want to win. I see that, and it makes me mad. It’s like, ‘Ugh, I want to do that!’

“I’ve been close so many times. I’ve been really close. Even last year, we were close before we got wrecked – we were in position to win it. It hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully it happens soon.”