Hamlin, Logano Have Altercation On Pit Road At Martinsville Following Playoff Race

Hamlin, Logano Have Altercation On Pit Road At Martinsville Following Playoff Race

by October 27, 2019 1 comment

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Tempers boiled over between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano following the intense NASCAR Playoff race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Late in the First Data 500, Hamlin and Logano made contact while exiting Turn 4. Hamlin who was on the inside of Logano didn’t let up while the two raced for position. Logano was pinched into the outside wall and not long after, the Team Penske No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford suffered a flat tire. Logano limped his car around the track for a lap before spinning in Turn 1 and brining out the caution.

“I got close off of Turn 4,” Hamlin said. “It looks like we got together, and it looks like collateral damage. He blew a tire. I mean, he would probably say, oh, short track racing.”

Both drivers are competing for a spot in the Championship 4, but Logano felt that Hamlin could’ve raced him cleaner for the position.

“He just kind of came off the corner like there wasn’t another car on the outside of him and ruined our day,” Logano said. “A shot at the win for sure. We probably weren’t going to beat the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.), but we had a top-five for sure coming our way, but we just were able to survive there.

“I don’t really know what happened because once he started hitting me he didn’t lift, he just kept finishing me off. We ran each other fine all day, so I don’t know. I don’t really know what happened. He just kind of sends me up there and keeps on going with it. Cut down my tires and fender rubs everywhere.”

Hamlin drove his car to a fourth-place finish, and Logano held on to an eight-place effort after 500 laps around Martinsville Speedway.

Following the race, Logano approached Hamlin, and the two drivers had a civil conversation. Before Logano departed the conversation, he pushed Hamlin. Logano walked away, and Hamlin chased him down and the altercation got underway. Teams kept the drivers separated for the most part, but the tempers certainly boiled over.

“We were having a discussion, everything was civil, and then like Joey does, he does a little push and then runs away,” Hamlin said. “So that’s Joey.  Scared ‑‑ he said, “Do you want to go?”  I said, “Yes, I’m here.” But then he runs away.”

Logano was heated prior to the conversation, but when he and Hamlin weren’t agreeing on the subject, that’s when he lost his temper.

“I honestly just wanted to see what he was going to say, and he really wasn’t apologetic at all,” Logano said. “That’s more frustrating when someone is like that, isn’t it?  When someone wrecks you and he’s like, meh, that’s not really what I was going for there. I just wanted to see what his thoughts were, and wasn’t quite the answer I was looking for.”

Heading to Texas Motor Speedway for the second race of the Round of 8, Hamlin and Logano are currently inside the top-four in the standings. Hamlin sits second, while Logano currently holds the fourth and final transfer spot by only a mere 14 points over Kevin Harvick.

The AAA Texas 500 will broadcast live on NBCSN and the Performance Racing Network (PRN) at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 3.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com

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