The Joey Logano controversy continues to rage. The three-time NASCAR Cup champion had unleashed a profanity-laden rant against Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric during the race at Talladega last Sunday. At Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, Ty Gibbs was the latest driver to step into the ‘Dega fallout when he criticized fans for being unfair to drivers.
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The grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs feels that fans should not criticize drivers for what they say on team radios, like what Logano said to Cindric. The younger Gibbs’ argument — and he has a valid point — is that team radio traffic is privileged communication between the driver, crew chief, and team members.
Fans are essentially just guests along for the ride. But they can be so fervent in their loyalties that they sometimes get too wrapped up in on-air verbiage. They feel part of the team and entitled to weigh in on that communication or to comment or criticize some of that chatter.
“That radio is for your team and the only reason why anybody else has access to it is for entertainment,” Gibbs told Frontstretch.com during a break in the action in Texas. “We are an entertainment business but also I think we get made out to look like bad people at times for what we say on the radio or what happens.”
Gibbs asked the fans to imagine the situation if their road cars had radios, and the talk got broadcast. Many would, obviously, get in trouble, and much more frequently than racers.
“There’s truth behind that because you say it and you push the button, but also I think if any of us drivers put radios inside of somebody’s car going down the highway, I think that a lot of people would probably be in way worse trouble [for what they say] than we would and I think that’s something that everybody should understand,” said Gibbs.
“You have people in the stands and people that watch that have never experienced anything like that in racing. But also all they do is just accuse and cancel you for stuff people say on the radios that are in the middle of competition,” he added.
Gibbs alluded to the fact that drivers are entitled to their opinion, given how emotional NASCAR competition can be. Sometimes words slip out, and Gibbs added that it’s more of a reactionary thing rather than a thought-out perspective.
“I’m not calling out anybody but I think it’s not fair; nobody should be judged by that,” Gibbs said. “I think that there’s a certain chance you can be a little bit, but I’m talking about like the regular fan in you calling somebody out and not saying something about (what) somebody else said.”
Gibbs asked the fans to be a bit more understanding of what’s at stake for the drivers when conversations happen over the radio during the heat of racing.
“This is the way we communicate with our team, that’s our only way to do it and everybody’s listening to everything and I don’t think that’s fair,” said Gibbs.
“I think that everybody should kind of understand. It’s definitely a lot going on for sure and, I don’t know, I’m sure everybody else would be a lot worse off than we would and stuff they say getting cut off down the highway. There’s a lot of traffic get in here — I’m sure people are fired up getting into this place, right?” Gibbs concluded with a chuckle.
Earlier in the week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and analyst Kyle Petty had weighed in on the Logano controversy.
Dale Jr.: Logano was entitled to what he said in the heat of battle
Junior stated that while racing on the edge, pushing for track positions and victories, a driver had the right to vent his frustrations over the team radio.
“We get in those cars and there ain’t no one and no time to second-guess the next thing that comes out. And what’s the point of saying it unless that button is pushed?” Dale Jr. said.
Likewise, former NASCAR driver turned TV analyst Kyle Petty said drivers are not immune to criticism from their fellow teammates, particularly when the action heats up.
“When you drive for Penske, when you drive for Gibbs, and when you drive for Hendrick, three of those other guys out there that you’re trying to beat into submission are your teammates,” Petty said.
“You show up to race for you. You’ve got to be selfish as a driver. I don’t think those comments are uncalled for. They deserve to be able to make those comments and vent anytime they want to, whether it’s their teammate or their mother,” he added.
But then, NASCAR fans enjoy the sport with a deep level of emotional investment, which sometimes leads them to vent overt and unfair criticism. That’s just part of the way the sport is perceived and enjoyed by the masses. The drivers understand, and have mostly accepted, this flipside to the fandom, too.
