Strategy plays a crucial role in the Brickyard 400, and Joey Logano and his team had crafted the perfect plan. Yet, despite their efforts, the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse faced an early exit from the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A chain reaction from a crash behind him pulled him into the chaos. A visibly disappointed Logano reflected on how his promising race came to an abrupt end before the checkered flag. Unfortunately for Logano, luck wasn’t on his side.

Joey Logano on his early exit

The Brickyard 400 never fails to impress. It’s always a high-energy, action-packed race. Maybe that is why the historic race is what it is. On the 30th anniversary of the race, Kyle Larson, in a sheer display of pace, took the checkered flag. The win is his fourth, making him the racer with the most wins in the 2024 Cup series.

Behind Larson, Tyler Reddick, who started on pole, finished in second. In the mix of the top five, Ryan Blayney took 3rd and Christopher Bell took 4th. And finally, Bubba Wallace finished 5th after a disappointing qualification that gave him a 17th position start. The 42-point finish for Bubba will certainly keep his playoff dreams alive.

The dramatic race witnessed many crashes. One of them was Joey Logano. He had a decent starting point in the 14th position. However, in the last stage of Indianapolis, it all went to dust. On lap 109, just after the restart, Logano nudged the back of veteran Jimmie Johnson, sending him into the fence. Leading to the seven-time Cup series champion taking an early exit. The crash wasn’t, however, Logano’s fault. The incident started when Spire Motorsports rookie Carson Hocevar made contact with Ryan Blaney, creating a chain reaction leading up to Logano bumping the rear of the #84, knocking them both out of the race.

Crashes are part and parcel of the race. However, Joey Logano, this time, blamed Carson Hocevar for being a little too greedy. In a post-race interview with Frontstretch, he said, “It scared the hell out of me. I never saw it. I mean, Carson had a good restart and filled the gap in the center; you can’t blame him for that, but he went for a little bit more and got a little greedy, it seemed like.” 

Logano was disappointed because he felt that his team did a great job and he had a fast Mustang, although he failed to capitalize. When you have everything perfectly placed, luck becomes a huge factor, as was the case with #22. He said, “I feel if we positioned ourselves where we needed to the best we could and racing god’s weren’t on our side.”

Also affected by the crash was 4-time Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, who’s been struggling in the series, had his last win in 2017. Through that time, his sponsors have stuck with him, which is why he wanted a good finish for them. Echoing the disappointment of Joey Logano, the LMC co-owner said, “Super disappointing. Want to get a great result for carvana they have supported me through my adventure In the Indy car and here in NASCAR coming back.”

The 2024 edition of the Brickyard 400 was full of ups and downs. Several missed out on the opportunity to kiss those historic bricks. You have to feel it for Denny Hamlin. Brickyard is a fort that he hasn’t conquered in his career so far. Similar to Logana, Hamlin also lacked luck in his race to win the Brickyard. He was collected in a multi-car crash started by John Hunter Nemechek. Hamlin missing out is not the only upset of the race; you also have to feel it for Kyle Busch!

Meanwhile, Rowdy continues what he has called his “had as hell” year

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Hamlin isn’t the only veteran having a bad day. While Hamlin had a bad day, Busch has legitimately been having a bad year. The two-time cup champion and the two-time winner of the Indianapolis race did not get the race he’d expected. He finished 25th, although it is a position gain from his disappointing 34th start. But a winless season continues.

Busch had said after the Chicago race that the 2024 year has been very difficult for him: “It’s been so dismal and so heartbreaking that I have a hard time dealing with enough stuff in my life that every Sunday to keep adding to it is getting harder and harder to deal with.” This weekend wasn’t any different.

It could have been special, as it was his 700th series start. A feat not many have achieved. However, the champ is struggling to find a spot in the playoffs. He currently stands in the 18th position in points. He only has six top-10 finishes and two in the top-5 this year.

Similar to Joey Logano, the racing gods did not favor Busch. Busch crashed while racing Denny Hamlin for a spot in the top five with less than three scheduled laps to go. He was 6th at that moment when his contact with #11 led to a spin, pushing him into the outside wall. Busch was then pushed behind the pack, and he finished in the 22nd spot.

Will Kyle Busch bounce back in the four races left before the playoffs? All he probably needs is a win. What do you think? Let us know in the comments down below.