“Ah it’s short track racing”- When Denny Hamlin mimicked NASCAR champion Joey Logano after a post-race scuffle
In 2019, Denny Hamlin mocked Joey Logano after an altercation during a playoff race at Martinsville Speedway.
The argument started after an on-track incident where Hamlin pushed Logano into the wall and damaged the latter's tire. Tensions boiled over after a post-race fight between them and the two NASCAR drivers got into a heated exchange that went from a calm conversation to a shoving match. Crew members had to step in to break up their fight.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Hamlin later tried to mimic Logano in an interview (via NASCARonFox) and poked fun at his behavior.
"Everything was civil and like Joey does, he does a little, you know, push and then runs away. So that's Joey. He's scared. He said, 'Do you want to go?' I said, 'Yes, I'm here,' but then he runs away," Hamlin said.
"I got close off of turn four. It looks like we got together, and it looks like collateral damage—he blew a tire. But I mean, he would probably say, 'Ah, its short track racing," he added.
Hamlin came in 4th and got the pole position at the Martinsville race, while his teammate Martin Truex Jr. won the race. Logano finished in eighth place.
Hamlin and Logano have a history of conflict starting from when they were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin even criticized Logano on X after he moved to Team Penske in 2013 and later had a fight with more insults.
"He really wasn't apologetic at all" - Joey Logano responded to Denny Hamlin's wreck
During the 2019 First Data 500, Joey Logano came back from 19th place to finish 8th. After the race, he talked about the on-track incident and expressed his frustration with Denny Hamlin in an interview.
"I just wanted to talk to him about it. I was pretty frustrated. He kind of came off the corner like he didn't have a car on the outside of him. It ruined our day. We had a shot at the win for sure," Logano said.
"I just wanted to see what he was going to say. He really wasn't apologetic at all. And that's more frustrating when someone is like that, isn't it?... I just wanted to see what his thoughts were, and it wasn't quite the answer I was looking for," he added. [0:58]
The playoff race at the 0.526-mile has had its fair share of drama. Matt Kenseth crashed into Joey Logano at Martinsville in 2015, as revenge for an earlier incident, which resulted in a two-race suspension for Kenseth. In 2018, Logano bumped Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap to win and reach the championship at Martinsville.