Frustrated by Denny Hamlin’s handling on the restart, Joey Logano didn’t hesitate to give the Joe Gibbs Racing driver the middle finger. Logano’s spotter claimed that Kyle Larson was the driver behind the accident, but the Team Penske driver refused to “buy” it.
Fifteen cautions were issued during the chaotic race at Nashville Superspeedway. The Ally 400 was scheduled for 300 laps, but multiple cautions extended the debacle by 31 laps. While many cars collapsed from lack of fuel in the final moments, Joey Logano survived the chaos to win his first regular Cup Series victory of the season.
But at the restart on lap 123, Logano, who was running in fourth place in the No. 22 Ford, was disappointed when he was rear-ended by Denny Hamlin in Turn 1. As a result, he dropped from fourth to eighth in one go. The Team Penske driver was frustrated, and when he ran into the JGR driver’s No. 11 Toyota, Logano gave Hamlin the middle finger and told spotter Coleman Pressley over the radio that Hamlin “deserved a shot.”
Presley tried to clarify the issue, claiming that it was Kyle Larson, not Hamlin, who pushed the two of them. Still, Joey Logano refused to “buy” the spotter’s reasoning. Check out the Nashville race winner giving Hamlin the middle finger (via NASCAR on X).
Joey Logano turned the tables around as the fourth overtime got underway
After Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson went into the first overtime on lap 299, the lead in the Ally 400 race changed hands several times. Denny Hamlin was the leader, Ross Chastain in second, and Kyle Larson in third. However, a passing maneuver by Larson caused the Trackhouse Racing driver to spin, bringing out another caution. Hamlin continued to lead into the second overtime, with Larson close behind in second and Martin Truex Jr. in third.
However, a multi-car pileup left the podium positions on the track unchanged. But when the third overtime period started with the green flag, Kyle Busch got stuck behind an out-of-gas Larson and Chase Elliott rammed him from behind, thus bringing out the fourth caution. Inevitably, as the race got longer, more cars started to suffer fuel issues, which benefited Joey Logano. The Connecticut native held on to the lead after taking it at the fourth overtime restart, and held off a stubborn Tyler Reddick to take the win in Music City.
After collecting the Guitar Trophy, Logano said:
“We won. “It was so close. I actually ran out of gas in [Turn] 3, but I was able to race across the finish line in a flash,” he said via x.
With his regular season win, Joey Logano qualified for the playoffs if he finished in the top 16 drivers.
