During last Sunday’s Ally 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway, Denny Hamlin was in the thick of things. Not just one, but Hamlin was involved in multiple battles throughout the race. But out of all, his confrontation with Joey Logano certainly grabbed the attention of the NASCAR community.
Logano was visibly frustrated with Hamlin for the way he was raced on a restart during Lap 123. The #11 car just bumped into the #22 car during the restart, resulting in both drivers losing control of their race cars and getting pushed out of the groove. We have seen the two drivers throwing punches at each other in the past, so there’s a history between the two. But this time around, it wasn’t Hamlin who created the ruckus- it was Kyle Larson who sneakingly got the better of his two rivals.
Denny Hamlin had to text Logano to explain his innocence
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During this restart, Logano wasn’t able to fire off and wasn’t up to speed with the rest of the pack. Right behind were the #11 and #5, and while Hamlin tried to avoid making contact with the #22, Larson just wasn’t going to let his foot off the throttle. Next thing you know, Hamlin and Logano went sideways, losing their track positions.
Soon a caution was flagged off, and this is where Logano lost his cool. He drove right beside the #11 and gave him the middle finger. His spotter tried to calm him to not escalate things, but he just wasn’t buying into his explanation. With rain putting a halt on the racing action, Hamlin tried to explain his side of the story.
The JGR driver texted him during the break, but the Penske star was still riled up from the incident. Denny Hamlin thus confirmed his innocence on his Actions Detrimental podcast, “He responded quickly by saying, F**k you, look at the SMT. I’m like, okay I’ll go look at it. He’s like, have you looked? And I said no, but I can tell you I was in the middle of it. So I know when I was hitting you and when I got hit. I’ll go back and look at it, but certainly, I can tell you that I started to release off of you, and I got pummeled into the corner.”
He even revealed that he had no intention of shoving him into the wall. Rather, he was trying to help get a good start, as he was at a disadvantage with only two tires instead of four. “I tried to explain to Joey, I was trying to do you a favor and not split you three wide. Because I knew he was on older sh*t anyway. I was like, I’m a help you get going here, and then I’ll pass you once we get to the corner … As soon as I lifted I got nailed and the 5 drove into me and knocked both of us off the track.”
As it happened, in a dramatic twist, Joey Logano put the brakes on his bitter rivalry with Denny Hamlin, powering his way to a sweet victory and his first win of the season!
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Finally, Joey Logano secures his playoffs spot with a needed win
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It took five overtime runs and a splendid defensive maneuver by Logano to end his 49-race winless streak at the Nashville Superspeedway. Thanks to the multiple overtime runs, most of the cars leading up front were running dry on fuel. The likes of Hamlin and Larson, who were controlling the field, were soon forced to give up their advantage, and it set up the stage for Logano to pull off a big result. And he rightly did.
Now he wasn’t handed the win on a platter, but he was made to work hard for it. Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick were also on the prowl to snag a win for themselves. But the Penske star was just not going to let them have it their way as he threw defensive blocks to fend off the late charge. He must be glad that he didn’t have to face another restart because he was also running low on fuel.
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“You know, trying to make the playoffs is not easy these days with these next-gen cars, and everyone’s so eagerly matched. You know, I’ve done, I made a lot of mistakes, even some tonight, and it’s nice to be able to overcome … This is just a much-needed win, for sure.” Logano said in the post-race interview. No wonder this was a huge result for Logano and Team Penske, who now have all three drivers locked in playoffs.
It will be interesting to see how the #22 team progresses in the next half of the season. While a win last Sunday was great, they will have to significantly improve their racing program to contend for the championship.