“I Was Gonna Show Him”: Riled Up Joey Logano Wanted to Teach Christopher Bell Fair Racing Practice During All-Star Race Finish

Christopher Bell won his first NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and pocketed the $1 million prize, edging out Joey Logano by 0.829 seconds. The race, marked by a record number of lead changes, came down to a physical showdown in the closing laps. And Logano was left fuming over Bell’s decisive move.

The final 28-lap green-flag stretch became the battleground for Bell and Logano to lock horns. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver pulled clear of last year’s winner and ultimately pulled clear of last year’s winner on Lap 241 of 250, taking full advantage of being on fresher right-side tires.

Bell had pitted under the promoter’s caution on Lap 215. Logano, meanwhile, had stayed out. And restarting sixth on Lap 223, Bell wasted no time cutting through traffic and passing Ross Chastain on Lap 227 to take second place. From there, it was hammer down.

Bell chased Logano relentlessly, and by Lap 241, he drew even, moved Logano high toward the wall, and completed the pass that sealed the win. Logano took the loss on the chin but didn’t sugarcoat his frustration.

Though he sarcastically labeled the move “fair”, given the seven-figure prize at stake, he made it clear he would have returned the favor had he managed to catch up.

“It is what it is. Sure, he did it good enough that I couldn’t get back to him. I was gonna show him what fair was, just couldn’t get there with the tires,” said Logano.

“So, I was doing all I can to play defense, and till my rear tires would come in, and it just took too long. And then he was gone. Like then, I couldn’t catch back up. So, yeah, frustrating, but when you lead that many laps, you got the fastest car, and a gimmick caution beats you,” elaborated the Team Penske driver.

“It just sucks,” added Logano. Bell, in response, held his ground.

The JGR  driver acknowledged that Logano made it difficult to complete a pass earlier in the run. So when he got his chance, he took it. “I don’t think I did anything that Joey has not done, and I’ve seen Joey do much worse, so we’ll continue on,” said Bell.

What likely affected Logano was the promoter’s caution. Leading comfortably when the yellow flew, Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, opted to keep him out on old tires. The rest of the field, including Bell, dove in for fresh rubber.

Logano admitted the strategy backfired. He believed at the time he could pull out a big enough gap while Bell sliced through traffic. But when the green flag waved, the #22 car failed to fire, running on the worn tires. Bell made quick work of the four cars ahead and never looked back.