In the world of NASCAR, where speed and precision are key, pit stops are one of the most important aspects of the sport, with pit stops having the potential to make or break a race. But amidst the thrill and the excitement of racing, one thing is more important, which is often overlooked, and that is safety.

The race last weekend at Homestead-Miami was a perfect example of this. Among the thrills of the race, one thing became glaringly clear: the pit lane at Homestead is a recipe for disaster. There were multiple incidents in the pit lane, including the incident between reigning champion Joey Logano and the winner of the last race, Josh Berry. The pair found themselves entangled with each other and facing the wrong way.

While the on-track racing is some of the best in the Cup Series, the same cannot be said for its pit road. Race cars running into each other isn’t something new, but Logano raised a genuine concern about the safety of the crews following his incident last weekend.

Logano’s Call to Action against SMI and NASCAR

“We are flirting with disaster on that pit road,” said Joey Logano in a recent interview, talking about the pit road at Homestead and how that is a recipe for disaster. Interestingly, Homestead ranks seventh in the list of the NASCAR tracks with a narrow pit road. This distance is measured from the edge of the pit stall to the outside wall hugging the pit lane. For context, the pit road at World Wide Technology Raceway is the tightest, but Logano demands an addition of ten feet at Homestead. 

“No one wants to see that on TV, someone getting crushed. The long term impact, even if you’re okay of an injury that a big old stock car comes running at you. You got to think. It’s one thing when there’s a car coming at you and you see it and you jump up in the air. It’s not good, don’t get me wrong. It’s still going to be really bad. But when your back is to a car, if you’re a tire changer and you’re on your knees, you’re low, you’re changing a tire, and a car comes sliding at you and you can’t see it coming, you can’t get out of the way, oh my God,” Logano explained further.

Despite Logano’s clear warnings, neither NASCAR nor Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) has done anything about it. This lack of action has left everyone concerned regrading any future incidents that may occur. In fact, the second-ranked track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway which has a pit lane spreading across 24 feet, has already witnessed such an incident. Back in 2020, Ryan Blaney’s pit crew was involved in an accident after he was struck by Brennan Pole’s car.

Perhaps SMI should take notice of pit road structures that are built at tracks like Darlington and Martinsville. Both of these racetracks have pit roads that are 28 feet wide. Well, both of these racetracks are not owned by SMI, but by NASCAR’s ISC. Three-time world champion Logano also gave an idea to solve this issue to increase the safety, “If they can make Pit Road 10 feet wider, it would be a world of difference,” said Logano, talking about how NASCAR and SMI can help solve the pit road safety crisis.

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Joey Logano’s Streak of Bad Performance

While pit road incident at Homestead played a part in Logano finishing 14th at Homestead, his streak of bad results has been consistent since the start of the season with no top-10 appearance for the reigning champion so far this season even after being the drivers who has led the most laps out of any one on the field (247 laps led in 2025 season).

“I still feel strong about our team. It’s still the championship-winning team. I feel great about that. And as a team, we’ve done great at leading laps. We’ve been towards the front, we’re tied for seventh in points, which shows we’ve scored a lot of stage points. So even though the finishes aren’t there, we’ve been able to run up front enough to score the stage points and to be able to be in contention,” Logano said in an interview when asked about his streak of bad results so far in the season.

Team Penske cars are notoriously known for waking up during the playoffs. All Logano needs is to find himself in the victory lane once before the end of 26 regular season races. Given that the No. 22 car has led the most laps, they have the speed; it’s only a matter of time before Logano finds himself celebrating another race win.