One of the first things Joey Logano did after the Sprint Cup race at Sonoma last weekend was go find teammate Denny Hamlin.
It was Hamlin whom Logano got into the back of with about 20 laps remaining, resulting in Hamlin spinning in Turn 11 and finishing 35th. Kyle Busch, Logano’s other Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, also got caught up in the aftermath and finished 17th.
Hamlin and Logano talked, and Hamlin knew that Logano didn’t wreck him on purpose. But it still didn’t completely soothe his ill feelings.
“Upset would be a good term (how I felt),” Hamlin said Wednesday. “Just so disappointed. We had spent most of the race hanging around the top 10, outside of it a little bit, and we were making a huge charge at the end of that race towards the front.”
Logano, who finished 10th, explained to Hamlin, who had just passed him a couple of laps earlier, that he had wheel-hopped his car in the turn, causing him to get into the back of him.
“I already talked to him,” Logano said after the race. “We’re going to move on. … When you get down in there and you’re trying to keep the car behind you, it’s just tight racing and we started to get into wheel-hopping.
“At that point, we were out of control.”
Joey Logano said wheel-hopping into the corner at Sonoma caused him to run into the back of teammate Denny Hamlin. (AP Photo)
Hamlin seemed to understand Logano’s stance but obviously wished it had never happened.
“Any time you have a hairpin corner, guys brake at different spots,” Hamlin said. “Just brakes are not as good at the end of the day, and he expressed that he wheel-hopped getting in the corner, and there was pretty much nothing he could do. Looking back at the tape, I look and I say he probably couldn't have.
“He would have either chosen to take either me or Kyle out, because Kyle was on my outside. … You just hope that you don't take anyone out in the process, and unfortunately we were the car in front of him.”
Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said Logano took it upon himself to mend the fences.
“It was frustrating for him,” Gibbs said. “He felt bad. Some of that stuff, in a race you start wheel-hopping, you can’t control once that begins.”
Hamlin said he didn’t take it personally.
“I knew it was nothing on purpose,” Hamlin said. “Obviously when you’re racing around (teammates), you race extra cautious. … He just made a small mistake and it was just magnified because we were the one in front of him.”
It was Hamlin whom Logano got into the back of with about 20 laps remaining, resulting in Hamlin spinning in Turn 11 and finishing 35th. Kyle Busch, Logano’s other Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, also got caught up in the aftermath and finished 17th.
Hamlin and Logano talked, and Hamlin knew that Logano didn’t wreck him on purpose. But it still didn’t completely soothe his ill feelings.
“Upset would be a good term (how I felt),” Hamlin said Wednesday. “Just so disappointed. We had spent most of the race hanging around the top 10, outside of it a little bit, and we were making a huge charge at the end of that race towards the front.”
Logano, who finished 10th, explained to Hamlin, who had just passed him a couple of laps earlier, that he had wheel-hopped his car in the turn, causing him to get into the back of him.
“I already talked to him,” Logano said after the race. “We’re going to move on. … When you get down in there and you’re trying to keep the car behind you, it’s just tight racing and we started to get into wheel-hopping.
“At that point, we were out of control.”
Joey Logano said wheel-hopping into the corner at Sonoma caused him to run into the back of teammate Denny Hamlin. (AP Photo)
Hamlin seemed to understand Logano’s stance but obviously wished it had never happened.
“Any time you have a hairpin corner, guys brake at different spots,” Hamlin said. “Just brakes are not as good at the end of the day, and he expressed that he wheel-hopped getting in the corner, and there was pretty much nothing he could do. Looking back at the tape, I look and I say he probably couldn't have.
“He would have either chosen to take either me or Kyle out, because Kyle was on my outside. … You just hope that you don't take anyone out in the process, and unfortunately we were the car in front of him.”
Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said Logano took it upon himself to mend the fences.
“It was frustrating for him,” Gibbs said. “He felt bad. Some of that stuff, in a race you start wheel-hopping, you can’t control once that begins.”
Hamlin said he didn’t take it personally.
“I knew it was nothing on purpose,” Hamlin said. “Obviously when you’re racing around (teammates), you race extra cautious. … He just made a small mistake and it was just magnified because we were the one in front of him.”