FORT WORTH, Tex.: Less than a week following their post-race scuffle at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, emotions are still running high for drivers Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano ahead of Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
On Friday afternoon, Hamlin threw accusations at the No. 22 Team Penske team driven by Joey Logano. Hamlin accused Logano’s crew chief Todd Gordon of not having control of his team which ultimately led to Hamlin being thrown to the ground by Team Penske crew member Dave Nichols Jr. who was suspended earlier this week for one race for the incident.
“It usually starts with the drivers and ends not. It’s part of it,” said Hamlin. “It’s just who’s going to be the first crew member to intensify the situation. I thought that my guys were pretty level, to be honest with you through that whole deal. I think you could see quite a few times Joey (Logano) is right in front of them and no one lays a hand on Joey.
“I think it’s just lack of control that Todd’s (Gordon, crew chief, Joey Logano) got with his people.”
When Hamlin was later asked if he believed Logano was playing mind games with him, he quipped, “No, he’s not that smart.”
Hamlin added, “I’m not going to let him touch me. First, the first thing, as a man you can’t just let that stuff happen. That’s the first thing. That doesn’t affect me, and we are talking about it right now, but within 30 minutes when I’m going in there to work, it stops.
“That’s my full concentration. Like I said, we go into every race track to win. This weekend is no different. We don’t self-label ourselves as a favorite. I don’t think we are. We’re not locked in to Homestead. We still have a lot of work to do. By no means is this thing given.”
Having a chance to respond to Hamlin’s comments, Logano was insistent he was still upset about Hamlin’s inability to apologize for the late-race contact off Turn 4 that shoved the No. 22 Ford Mustang into the wall – which ultimately later caused Logano to spin and battle back for a top-10 finish.
“Here are the facts. I think Todd (Gordon) has great control of our race team and is a great crew chief and does a great job leading all of us,” spoke Logano. “I said it after the race to TV that I probably shouldn’t have gone down there looking for an apology for something he probably wasn’t going to apologize for, and I let my emotions get the best of me.
“That was a mistake on my part. I probably didn’t handle that correctly. It doesn’t make what he did on the race track right but I think at the same time he will probably play that card as much as he wants, he can run his mouth as much as he wants. I am going to run my race and we will see who ends up ahead.”
While Logano was told by reporters that Hamlin apologized Friday at Texas Motor Speedway for the on-track incident during last Sunday’s First Data 500 race, Logano believed that Hamlin should have admitted the mistake at the track when he was confronted.
“That is fine. He didn’t own up to it when we talked about it at the time. For me, as a man, the first thing I do is own up to my mistakes,” sounded Logano. “I probably would have walked down to him if I did the same thing and said I was sorry and that I screwed up.
“That is what sent me off the edge. Like I said, I am regretful of the way I handled it. I let someone affect my character and that is something I am not proud of. We get stronger from these moments and you live, and you learn, and you move on. It is part of our sport and part of the situation, part of the playoffs. You guys all have something to talk about now.
“He just said he needed all the space (at Martinsville). I don’t know. I was there. I couldn’t give any space. I was in the wall.”
Head games seem to be a common practice the deeper the NASCAR Playoffs inch closer to Homestead and while Hamlin’s comments could be construed as a tactic, Logano said he is tough.
“He can try,” he offered. “I am a little tougher than he thinks.”
Logano believes Hamlin may be underestimating him too.
“I am sure he does inside his mind,” he said. “Anytime something like this happens, the games are played. He is handling it a different way than I would have but we aren’t the same person and that is okay. Whatever you are into.
“However, you want to handle things. Like I said, I am not proud of the way I handled it, but I am going to be man enough to fess up to that and own that. Outside of that, I move on and whatever he wants to say, I could really give a crap.
“Listen, he affected my character once, I am not going to let him do that again by throwing trash at someone and who they are and things like that. What happened was something on the race track and what happened afterwards was a lot of emotions and that is all I can control.”
When asked how he’ll race Hamlin for the final three races of 2019, the reigning champion was quick to respond, “The way I want to.”
So, is Logano and Hamlin enemies or rivals? Logano responded, “I don’t know. Time will tell.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
