Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano once came to blows on pit road after a NASCAR playoff race following a conversation that transpired between the two drivers. Hamlin and Logano, both among NASCAR’s elite drivers, had to be pulled apart as tempers flared after a seemingly calm discussion took a turn for the worse.
The discussion, which appeared to be civil, turned physical when Logano aggressively patted Hamlin on the shoulder while he was walking away. Hamlin wasn’t pleased with Logano’s behavior and went after him. Crews from both sides intervened, and Hamlin ended up leaving the area.
Denny Hamlin Didn’t Back Down From Joey Logano
Talking about the fight, Hamlin said, “We were having a discussion, and everything was civil. And then, like Joey does, he does a little push and then runs away.
“That’s Joey. He’s scared. He said, ‘Do you want to go?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m here.’ And then he runs away.”
When asked to explain his side of how the situation went down, Logano said he was annoyed about something that Hamlin had done on the track. He claims that Hamlin had run him into the wall resulting in tire damage.
Logano said, “I just wanted to talk to him. 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.”
He added, “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.”
Earlier in the race, Hamlin and Logano were neck to neck battling it out when Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota went into the side of Logano’s No. 2. This pushed Logano into the wall just off Turn 4 and caused him some tire damage.
This resulted in Logano spinning out two laps later and prompting a caution period with 40 laps left. That left him as the last driver on the lead lap before his comeback helped him salvage a top 10.
Martin Truex Jr. claimed the checkered flag for that race.
