NASCAR: Joey Logano penalized again, but avoids major punishment

After qualifying second for Sunday afternoon's Ambetter Health 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Team Penske's Joey Logano was found to have been in violation of Section 14.3.1.1 (“Driver Protective Clothing/Equipment”) in the NASCAR Rule Book, which requires that protective gloves meet SFI-approved specifications.

Because of the custom webbing between the thumb and the index finger on his left glove, the glove was not in compliance with the regulations.

The modification was classified as having been made for an aerodynamic advantage and pretty much viewed as cheating, as gloves are required to have separate sections for each finger and thumb.

As a result, Logano had to give up his front row starting position and drop to the rear of the field before the race.

He also had to serve a drive-through penalty, though he ended up not feeling the full force of that penalty because of the fact that a 16-car pileup occurred on only the second lap at the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) high-banked Hampton, Georgia oval as he made his way down pit lane.

Logano largely overcame the penalty, leading 27 laps later in the race, but he ended up crashing out at the end of stage two.

NASCAR will not dock Joey Logano any points

While Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece both lost 35 points after NASCAR confiscated the roof rails on their cars during Friday inspection, Logano was only fined for his infraction. His fine was in the amount of $10,000.

He was presumably not docked any points because of the fact that the competition-related consequence of his violation was able to be enforced during the race itself.

Logano was in 33rd place in the point standings before the penalties were issued to Gragson and Preece. He now sits in 31st following back-to-back crashes to open up the 2024 season at Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He started on the front row in both races, including the pole for the Daytona 500, and has led the second most laps, trailing only Front Row Motorsports' Todd Gilliland in that category.

The two-time series champion will be looking to bounce back in this Sunday afternoon's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fox is set to provide live coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!