The All-Star Race on Sunday ended with Christopher Bell taking home $1 million by beating the defending Cup Series champion, Joey Logano. It was the freshly introduced promoter’s caution that gave Bell the chance to overtake Logano in the final laps of the day, and so, the latter was incredibly frustrated with it. But how fair was he in being so?
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Denny Hamlin, who finished the race in 12th place, spoke about the promoter’s caution on Actions Detrimental. He said that drivers must not be complaining about it since they all knew what it was and how it could impact their days beforehand. Also, he believes that any criticism or frustration must have been expressed before the race.
The driver said, “I think if we did any complaining, we needed to do it before the race and not post it simply because we might not agree with it.”
He went on to explain how the caution made the race more interesting and added, “I think it accomplished what it was designed to accomplish. We can argue the merits of whether it should or should not have been there.”
“But I disagree with us talking about it post-race because it affected you in a negative way.” He continued about Logano and his team, “The No. 22 thought they had the best car. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. They certainly were one of them. When you don’t win, you get butt hurt.”
What Logano said about the promoter’s caution
Logano was in a position to win consecutive All-Star Races at North Wilkesboro until the promoter’s caution was thrown with 35 laps to go. The plan was to bunch up the field and create a late restart with a million dollars at stake.
Logano, who led 139 laps, decided to stay on the track while Bell and other drivers went to the pits.
Bell opted for a two-tire change, and it ended up making all the difference. He chased Logano down and took the lead with 10 laps to go before securing his maiden All-Star win.
Logano told the press that he would be having a word with Marcus Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., about the caution and its timing.
He said, “I’m all about no gimmicks with the caution. I am all about that. I’m a little — me and Marcus Smith aren’t seeing eye to eye right now, okay? I’ve got to have a word with him.” It remains to be seen if chatting with Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., will serve any purpose.
