Truex defiant, Busch sarcastic to Logano’s championship favorite claim

Two members of the Big 3 gave responses as different as their personalities to Joey Logano.

You can forgive Joey Logano for feeling himself a little bit at the moment. Not only is he the only driver guaranteed to be in the Championship 4 at Homestead, but he seized his spot by boldly knocking Martin Truex Jr. out of the way to win at Martinsville. It was hardly surprising to hear Logano proclaim himself the Cup Series championship favorite now, just as it was no shock to hear Truex and Kyle Busch having none of it on Friday at ISM Raceway.

They just did it in very different ways.

For Truex, the defending series champion, his message was simple and direct: “Talk is cheap. Put it on the racetrack and show us what you got.” That follows his vow after Martinsville that Logano would not win the championship, because he was going to win it.

Busch took a more sarcastic route.

“He’s the only one locked into Homestead, so he’s the only guy racing right now,” Busch said. “He can be the favorite if he wants to.”

There is, of course, a certain amount of self-confidence required to be a NASCAR champion. Logano needs to have that mindset if he wants to defeat the three drivers who dominated so much of the regular season (assuming the Big 3 all make it to Homestead, which is still up in the air).

Phoenix pole-sitter Kevin Harvick didn’t weigh in, as he’s got his own redemption quest to undergo after having his emphatic Texas victory taken away in all the ways that matter. But he’d undoubtedly give his own spin on what Truex and Busch were insinuating: Confidence is nice, but it’s not worth anything unless you back it up when it matters most.

We’ll find out in about a week whether Logano can manage to do just that.