Joey Logano Isn’t Making Many Friends
This may have been the best weekend of racing that I’ve seen in a long time. There was drama in Formula One, there were unusual events and great racing in IndyCar, and the drama from last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway not only carried over into this week, but exploded even more!
Mar 17, 2013; Bristol, TN, USA; NASCAR officials try to break up a fight between the crews for Sprint Cup Series drivers Denny Hamlin (11) and Joey Logano (22) after the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Moving over to Penske Racing was suppose to resemble a fresh start for young Joey Logano. Instead, he finds himself fighting battles, that while some may or may not be his fault, I don’t think he can finish. While some of the fights and actions on the track have been other drivers’ fault, some of it is to blame on Logano as well.
Last weekend, Denny Hamlin, wasn’t very smart and he can take the blame for Bristol. This weekend however, even if unintentional, the blame is on Logano’s shoulder.
He again tried to make a pass on Hamlin and came up too short and cut off Hamlin. Except this time, he was far off of where he thought he was. He clipped the front end of Hamlin’s car sending himself into the outside wall while Hamlin slammed head first into the inside wall. Hamlin would go to the infield care center, but leave the track via helicopter.
If Logano’s problems weren’t tough enough with just Hamlin…they got bigger with Tony Stewart. Stewart wasn’t pleased with Logano on a restart when Logano pushed him nearly into the infield. Logano says he was blocking to defend a race lead, but Stewart wasn’t please with how it was handled. Hmm…I guess Smoke forgets his perfect track record on blocking?
So after the race, the colorful Tony Stewart went looking for a brawl. The crews separated him from Logano and he would later take the time to answer questions for FOX Sports.
Here are some “Quotes from Smoke:”
“Dumb little [expletive] runs us clear down to the infield. He wants to [expletive] about everybody else. He’s the one who drives like a [expletive]. I’m going to bust his ass.”
“I mean he’s sent Denny to the hospital and screwed our day up. He’s talked the talk, but he hasn’t walked the walk yet.”
“Five years from now, we’re probably going to have to do another tribute to another driver because we’re probably going to kill somebody. It could be me. It could be Dale Earnhardt Jr.”
“If he ever turns down across in front of me again, I don’t care what lap it is, he won’t make it through the other end of it. I’m tired of these guys doing that stuff. Especially out of a kid that’s been griping about everybody else and then he does that the next week.”
Regardless of who you think is at fault for both the Logano/Hamlin and Logano/Stewart fights and accidents, it’s hard to argue that Logano is making friends this year. His list of enemies appears to be growing each weekend.
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