Joey Logano was frustrated after a push from Austin Dillon, a driver for Richard Childress Racing, cost him a shot at his second Cup Series win this season. As Logano headed to the pit road after the race, he expressed his displeasure by forcefully applying his brakes. This action left fans on X (formerly Twitter) divided over how he chose to release his frustration.
Logano, who drives the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, is a two-time Cup Series champion with 30 wins in the series. He has also claimed 30 victories in the Xfinity Series and two in the Truck Series. This year, he secured a spot in the playoffs after winning the Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway in June. However, after finishing 19th last Sunday and missing out on another win, Logano aggressively revved his engine on the crowded pit road, clearly angry.
Fans had mixed reactions to Logano’s outburst. One fan suggested it should result in a $50,000 fine, saying, “welp that’s a $50k penalty…”. Another fan criticized Logano’s actions but also questioned why people are allowed on a “hot pit road,” stating, “People, let alone women and babies shouldn’t be allowed on pit road. This is absolutely dumb. It’s not ok what Logano did but it’s also dumb that people are allowed on a hot pit road.”
Other fans echoed similar concerns about safety on the pit road. One wrote, “No but once again, WHY ARE THERE KIDS ON A HOT PIT ROAD ???” while another added, “It isn’t okay, but families shouldn’t be on a hot pit road to begin with. They need to stop that immediately and make drivers go back to victory lane.” A supporter of Logano remarked, “22 fan. No, not acceptable. I understand it was heat of the moment, but this is $50,000 and an ass chewing.”
Currently, Joey Logano is 15th in the Cup Series standings with 557 points. This season, he has led 230 laps and has four top-five finishes and seven top-ten finishes.
NASCAR Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, commented on Logano’s pit road behavior, acknowledging that while it might be true that non-racing personnel shouldn’t be on the pit road, Logano’s actions could have been dangerous. Fortunately, no one was harmed. Video footage shows Logano stopping just inches away from a group of people near Austin Dillon’s pit box, which included Dillon’s wife and daughter.
When asked by journalist Bob Pockrass if Logano might face a penalty, Sawyer stated, “We don’t want to make a split-second decision and get it wrong. So we want to make sure we go back and we’ll look at everything that happened on the last lap and post-race and see if any penalties need to be issued.”
Austin Dillon also voiced his displeasure with Logano, suggesting that if Logano was that upset, he should have addressed it through the media or directly with him. “I get it you’ve got to be mad and upset,” Dillon said during Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour Podcast (as reported by FOX). “But do it in, like, an interview or talk to me about it. You’ve got to be careful on pit road with that type of stuff.”
Both drivers will now focus on next week’s race at Michigan International Speedway, which will be broadcast live on NBC Sports and the USA Network on August 18 at 2:30 PM ET.
