As electrifying as the Chicago Street Race proved on track, it didn’t come without its fair share of fireworks. One of the headlining flashpoints came late in the race when Ross Chastain and Joey Logano found themselves trading blows. While the two aired out their grievances on pit road after the race, former NASCAR driver and seasoned observer Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested that Logano is likely to play the long game and won’t let the incident slide without leveling the score down the line.
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The trouble began on a lap 64 restart in the final stage. Austin Cindric locked up the rear brakes heading into Turn 1, triggering a pileup. Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece bore the brunt of the chaos, with Larson’s car ricocheting into the No. 1 driver, who then spun just ahead of Logano.
Chastain, clipped from behind, careened backward into the Turn 1 tire barrier. He wasted no time refiring his Chevy and jumping back into the mix, with Logano now squarely in his sights. Believing Logano had wronged him and unaware that Cindric had kicked off the chain reaction, Chastain wasted no time in dishing out payback.
One corner later, he delivered a calculated bump to Logano entering Turn 2, sending the No. 22 Penske driver into Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The contact spun both cars, knocking them out of the running order. Chastain clawed back to finish 10th, with Logano right behind in 11th. When the dust settled, Logano stormed down pit road and confronted Chastain in a fiery exchange before tempers cooled and both men parted ways.
In his post-race comments, Logano frustratingly said, “He admitted he wrecked me on purpose. He admitted it… That’s not okay.” And while Chastain may have felt justified, assuming Logano was the one who sent him spinning, Dale Jr. hinted that this wasn’t the last chapter.
“Joey will probably get Ross back, at some point. It might be a year from now. It might be at some point. And we might not even notice or recognize it, but Joey will (do something), something will happen somewhere at a racetrack, and it might just be Joey air-blocking Ross and costing him a few spots on a restart.” said Junior, forecasting a quiet but calculated payback.
Logano’s frustration was written all over his face post-race, as he brushed past pit reporters without stopping. The tension between the two has been simmering for months. Their first skirmish came earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas.
Then came Martinsville, where a late-race block by Chastain intended for Chase Briscoe inadvertently collected Logano, prompting the Penske driver to fire back, saying Chastain “races like a jacka— every week.”
NASCAR Insider Steve Letarte gives his opinion on the Logano-Chastain situation
According to former crew chief and longtime Hendrick Motorsports figure Steve Letarte, the ball is now squarely in Trackhouse Racing driver’s court to pick up the phone, bite the bullet, and offer Joey Logano an apology that might put the spat to bed. Letarte believes the whole dust-up stems from a clash of two alpha racers, both known for their take-no-prisoners style behind the wheel.
Speaking on his Inside the Race podcast, Letarte drew a straight line between the two drivers, calling them mirror images in terms of mettle and mindset. He noted that the duo is cut from the same cloth. So, when stubborn meets stubborn, sparks are bound to fly, and everyone around them feels the heat.“If I’m Chastain, I’m calling Joey Logano this week, taking my butt-chewing,” he said.
Letarte also underlined the bigger picture. Trackhouse Racing and Chastain, still climbing the sport’s ladder, can’t afford to have a heavyweight like Logano, and by extension, the Penske juggernaut, working against them. In Letarte’s eyes, poking the bear that is a three-time Cup champion might not be the wisest move for a team still working to solidify its footing in NASCAR’s upper echelon.
