The Talladega Cup race meant different things to different people — Austin Cindric picked up his third win, Joey Logano faced disqualification, and Denny Hamlin called it uneventful. But for many, the real drama came from Logano’s outburst toward teammate Cindric over a missed Stage 2 opportunity.
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Logano, frustrated over team coordination, hurled expletives at Cindric on the radio. However, his tone softened once the #2 driver took the checkered flag, and he expressed relief that the trophy stayed in-house.
Cindric, when asked about the incident during his post-race media session, admitted they hadn’t spoken at the time, but believed they would clear the air, as they’ve always had each other’s backs.
He acknowledged Logano’s frustration, noting that drivers rarely have the full picture from behind the wheel. When Frontstretch’s Stephen Stumpf later caught up with Logano at North Wilkesboro, the #22 driver confirmed they had talked and moved past it.
Logano said, “My perspective is the same, hasn’t changed a bit… At this point, we talked, we communicated. We’re still teammates… You’re brothers… You’re going to sometimes not see eye to eye.
“Everyone wants to stick up for their side, obviously, but we just have to come to some kind of common ground and move forward, because no matter what, he’s still my brother… We’ve still got to figure it out, and we will, and we did,” he stated.
However, Logano did not forget to point out that television coverage didn’t fully capture what triggered him and declined to disclose team-specific strategies. He hinted that the breaking point had been building and that his reaction stemmed from a pattern, not just a single moment.
He elaborated, “When something that was set to be a certain way doesn’t go the way that we all agreed to, and maybe not the first time, then yeah, you’re going to get a little frustrated about it.”
Logano on MLB legend Chipper Jones taking a dig at him
While Joey Logano was initially unaware of Chipper Jones’ remarks following his criticism of teammate Austin Cindric, he learned about it during Tuesday’s appearance at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Jones had taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express disapproval of the three-time Cup champion, praising Cindric’s effort and implying Logano put himself above the team.
In his post, Jones congratulated Cindric and told him to remember that moment, noting how he kept Logano’s car out of trouble only to be met with harsh criticism. He added, “Some people are ‘hooray for our team, as long as I’m the star,’” alluding to Logano as someone who only backs the team when he’s at the center of it.
Logano, addressing the backlash, admitted he had no idea what sparked Jones’ commentary, stating he had never even met the MLB Hall of Famer. He gathered, though, that Jones clearly had a bone to pick with him.
Logano expressed surprise, saying he expected more from a fellow professional athlete, “I would have assumed him being the athlete that he is and was that he would understand that [the competitive environment] and not mouth off on social media like somebody that’s never played the sport before or a sport… All I can think is he’s just trying to be relevant still or something like that. I don’t really know exactly why.”
All eyes will now turn to whether Jones decides to fire back.
