Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano said there was no solution to the problem that forced him to abandon Saturday night’s race in Atlanta.
After receiving contact while running in a tight pack, Dennis Hamlin catalyzed a massive wreck at EchoPark Speedway, bringing together nearly half the 40-car field and forcing several drivers to retire with damage.
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Among these drivers were championship leader William Byron and defending champion Logano, who was more philosophical than Hendrick Motorsports star on the incident.
Speaking after the race, the Team Penske star felt it was a normal part of speedway racing and that such wrecks could not be avoided when the cars were racing so close together.
“I mean, it’s one of those things that you know, when you’re in the peloton, you have no idea that we don’t destroy more often,” Logano said. FOX Sports.
“It’s amazing we don’t break more often, but that’s part of the game (speedway racing) sometimes.”
“There’s no way to fix this, it’s just everyone is on top of each other.”
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Joey Logano eliminated from In-Season Challenge
In the end, Logano was officially ranked 36th in Saturday’s racebut the result impacted his chances of success this season.
After making it clear that he was one of the drivers who appreciated the In-Season Challenge and the million dollar prize that came with it, he suffered elimination in the first round following his DNF on Saturday.
Before the action in Atlanta, he said: “If there’s something to win, you want to win it.”
The challenge pairs two drivers on a knockout basis over the course of five races, with the field reduced to 16 for the next race in Chicago.
Logano lost to Alex Bowman in the first round, who managed to escape the chaos of the 69th round and claim third place on Saturday night.
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