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Joey Logano comes clean on his failure to back out from the mess that contributed to his Daytona 500 crash with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano delivered a strong performance in the Daytona 500 despite battling car issues and pit road troubles. After working his way to the front, Logano was caught in an on-track incident, bringing his night to an early end at Daytona Beach, Florida.
Logano worked his way back to the front after a lengthy pit stop in Stage 2, caused by debris getting sucked into the grille of his #22 Ford and sticking to the throttle body. On Lap 186, he battled Hyak Motorsports' Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for P4, but with Stenhouse refusing to yield, Logano found himself in a tight spot between him and Kyle Busch. Eventually, he lost control of his Ford, triggering a multi-car wreck in the closing laps of the Daytona 500.
Following the end of his race, the Connecticut native shared his thoughts on the incident that shattered his Daytona 500 hopes. (via NASCAR on TSN on X),
"From my vantage point, I felt like I had to get to the second car in line to have a chance to win the thing. And had an opportunity to get down in front of the #4 there and then the #47 kind of had a late block there. And then at this point, he's (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) kind of indecisive. I was trying to back out of it at this point, I couldn't. I was getting shoved into it because the checkup already happened." Joey Logano said
"Just racing there at the end. It seems like it's just felt like I can get my nose in there. Was going to and then he just wanted to block it and then I couldn't get out." he added
Following Loagno's incident, a late-race crash on Lap 196 triggered a massive pileup, sending Ryan Preece airborne, and the race into overtime. As the white flag waved, Denny Hamlin chased Austin Cindric, but another incident unfolded in the final stretch. William Byron avoided the chaos and powered to victory, securing back-to-back Daytona 500 wins for Hendrick Motorsports.
"Wrong place, wrong time": Martin Truex Jr. on Daytona 500 misfortune following Joey Logano's check-up
Former Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. made a surprise return for the Daytona 500 after announcing his retirement from full-time racing last season. However, his race ended in misfortune after Joey Logano's #22 Ford experienced an engine issue during a restart in stage 2.
The check-up caused a massive multi-car wreck, taking out Truex Jr., NASCAR debutant Helio Castroneves, Ross Chastain, and several others. Reflecting on the incident, Truex Jr. shared his thoughts on his unfortunate fate at Daytona.
"It's always disappointing when you don't finish no matter what the situation, especially in a race like this, when it's probably our only shot this year...it was fun while it lasted, but unfortunately, we were just wrong place wrong time there," Truex Jr. said via FOX"
The former Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished the race in P38 while reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano secured a P35 result.