Joey Logano is expressing his dissatisfaction with NASCAR’s ruling to allow Denny Hamlin’s jumpstart at Richmond to go unpunished. Hamlin’s victory in overtime at Richmond has sparked controversy, as he allegedly jumpstarted on the final restart to secure the win, defeating his teammate. Initially, NASCAR cleared Hamlin of any wrongdoing, but later admitted that they had missed the incident and took too long to recognize it.
Joey Logano, a two-time NASCAR Cup champion who finished second in the Toyota Owners 400, is unhappy with NASCAR’s decision. He believes that if he were to make the same move next week, he would be penalized. Logano also criticizes NASCAR for only reviewing the incident after Martin Truex Jr. complained about it, suggesting that it reflects poorly on the race control.
The driver from Team Penske raises a valid point, as NASCAR should have acknowledged the issue. He also mentions that the sanctioning body has previously reviewed jumpstart incidents. While the race control made the wrong call on Sunday, there is nothing that can be done now except to move forward.
The veteran driver from JGR partially blames Joey Logano for the jumpstart issue, noting that Logano was dictating the restart and his decision to lay back and take advantage led to Hamlin rolling out early. Logano would have had a momentum advantage if Hamlin had waited longer to accelerate.
While Hamlin has a point about Logano’s role in dictating the restart, ultimately it was Hamlin who had the most control and made the decision to roll out early. The race and its results are now in the past, and there is nothing that can be changed. However, NASCAR must be cautious in their decision-making going forward to assert to the garage that jumpstarts will not be tolerated.