“I Have a Family”- Joey Logano on Putting Himself at Risk for Gaining Extra Advantage at Track

The Atlanta race unfolded with some pretty interesting twists. Besides the over-arching historic photo finish that may have made it to NASCAR’s best moments in history, another unique incident stood out. To put it briefly, Joey Logano implemented an ingenious trick to get ahead of the racing game.

The webbed gloves deployed by Logano have been reigning supreme in racing circles since the past week. Stalwarts from Dale Earnhardt Jr to Denny Hamlin endorsed the clever maneuver, calling it a product of pure creativity. But NASCAR had different views, as they slapped a $10,000 fine on Logano. Now, ahead of the Las Vegas race, Logano downplayed the evil genius that motivated him to use those gloves.

After securing the pole for Las Vegas on Saturday, Logano put forward a nonchalant, unflinching view. “What I’m proud about with this team is, yeah, that was a tough situation for us. It was hard to go through and embarrassing for sure, but the fact we got through it and just move on and focus on the next week. We showed that we have some speed in our race car and to be able to put it on the pole here, to me, is a statement type lap so I’m proud of that.”

Read More: Joey Logano’s Embarrassing Antics Leave Owner Roger Penske Disappointed in the Team Leader

But recently, when Logano was asked if he put himself in an unsafe position, he flipped his proud stance. “No. I personally did not..you know I would never put myself in a situation where I feel unsafe. I have kids, I have a wife, I have a family that I care way more about than race cars.”

It was by chance that NASCAR discovered Logano’s bending of the rules. In a random safety check, officials reviewed in-car footage to see a driver’s helmet height, headrest height, and movement in the cockpit. Brad Moran, NASCAR Cup Series managing director, said that Logano was included in “about five cars” randomly checked at Atlanta. Then they spotted the gloves in a slow-motion video.

The portion between the thumb and the forefinger was webbed. Even then, the black color of the gloves made the webbing difficult to discover.

The two-time Cup champion was sent to the rear of the field and also had to serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag in Atlanta. However, NASCAR made a new revelation regarding Logano’s glove rule infraction, after NASCAR released photos of the illegal item.

Joey Logano’s rule-bending stint was broader than expected

On Saturday, Brad Moran showcased the infamous glove that Logano had worn to garner brownie points. It was earlier presumed that only the area between the thumb and the forefinger was webbed. But as it turns out, the entirety of the glove featured webbing.

Moran explained the benefits of this newly uncovered feature. “As you can see, the entire glove is wrapped. So, the reason for that is obviously you can block more air.”

The discovery of the magic gloves prompted questions about new rule changes. “The drivers do put their hand up against the opening, which we’ve never really had a rule against it, but this obviously goes one step further,” Moran said. “They’ve been doing it for decades, you know, and it gets talked about. So, I wouldn’t sit here and say it might not ever change, but as of right now, we don’t (see a change).”

Joey Logano already won the Las Vegas pole. So he might thunder through the final race, set to flag off in a few hours, glove or no glove.