“The thing with Logano, and it has bit him a few times: He is very aggressive. Overly so sometimes, where he is a very aggressive pusher”, said Jordan Bianchi after Joey Logano wrecked even after being one of the fastest cars on the tracks. With only 15 laps to go, the wreck had major implications and it robbed Team Penske’s chance for a Daytona 500 win. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s aggressive racing triggered the wreck as well. It swept away Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott.

While some blamed Joey Logano, NASCAR veterans now believe he wasn’t solely responsible, as last-lap chaos played a major role in the incident.

Logano wasn’t left with any choice but to wreck

Having won Stage 1, no one expected Joey Logano to go out in such a controversial fashion. The pressure was on the Penske driver to put on a show after starting his title defense, but a fender-bender with Stenhouse Jr. has already left him on the back foot against the rest of the field.

Speaking of how much Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a crucial role to play, NASCAR insider, Freddie Kraft said, “But I just think it was a little bit on the 47 that caused that….But to me, I think it was more 50/50. Like, I think Ricky makes a bad block—a late block. I don’t even know if it’s a bad block, but he gets the block done. It’s a block, it’s late, it’s going to stack everybody up, but he gets it done. And then Joey, there’s a half, three-quarters of a car hole there, and he just keeps trying to wedge back in there.”

With 14 laps remaining, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made a late block on Joey Logano. While the move was initially effective, it ultimately created a chain reaction. The block stacked up the field, leaving a narrow gap that Logano tried to wedge into. For Logano, slowing down wasn’t an option. He was running in 7th position, hungry to make it to the victory lane. Moreover, the #4 of Gragson was running incredibly close to the #22. If the Penske driver slowed down, he risked Noah Gragson ramming into his rear bumper. 

Logano was quite sure that it was the #47 that led to this chaos. While the team Penske driver had led 43 laps and even won stage 1, this wreck ensured that he ended in P35. Speaking of the same, Logano said, “47 had a bit of an indecisive moment, and that’s what gets you in trouble at times, is when you’ve kind of got to pick one.” He further added, “I went to the second lane. It felt like I had to get in front of the 47 there. I had to get to the second car in my row to have a chance to win the race….At that point, you’re just along for the ride.” As Logano noted, racing decisions in the final laps often come down to taking risks, but in this case, it was the 47’s indecision that set the crash in motion.

At the same time, Logano’s role in the incident can’t be ignored. Although he was forced into a tight spot, some believe he shouldn’t have been there in the first place, with Stenhouse Jr.’s late move being nothing but the trigger of an impending wreck. Arguably, if Logano did indeed keep himself from pushing into such a narrow gap, he could have left the hopes of getting a Penske driver into victory lane possible. In addition to Cindric’s car, Blaney looked like a good candidate to win the Great American Race. In the end, it seems like Penske drivers shot themselves in the foot, or so Kyle Busch believes.

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Stenhouse Jr. makes his feelings known about Logano

Though Joey Logano‘s aggression played a role, Stenhouse Jr.’s late block and failure to fully cover the hole left a significant opening for Logano to make the move. The incident has been hailed as aggressive by the entire NASCAR community. Busch, whose time on the track ended after this wreck said, “Looked like the fastest car got in a hurry to get to the wreck. Logano was by far the fastest car today. Saw a lot of laps led, and he could about do anything. The Penske cars are very strong.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been at the receiving grunt among fans, as well as Joey Logano himself. However, the 2023 Daytona 500 winner has not come out clean and blamed Logano for the move. Speaking of the wreck, he said, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen the replay yet. But I feel like the holes were pretty small he was trying to fill.” Stenhouse Jr also mentioned that the two drivers were working together till the point, “I was hoping he would stick with me… I feel like I pretty much pushed him all the way around the racetrack for 10 to 12 laps, and we were really fast.”

While most other drivers choose to be aggressive and shift blame quickly on who might be responsible, Stenhouse Jr maintained his calm. It is evident from his notion that the move was a miscalculation from both the drivers and was a result of aggressive plate racing.