Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have not yet spoken after the two teammates collided while racing for the lead on the final lap of the Daytona 500.
Logano led the race with Keselowski moving to second place in front of the white flag. Keselowski tried the same move he used to get Kevin Harvick’s second in Logano on the back of the last lap. But unlike Harvick, Logano moved on to block Keselowski’s attempted pass. The blockade led to a violent fall and Michael McDowell’s victory on Sunday night.
“I look at him and see that, in my opinion, everyone is going to have one – but mine is that I am in the mirror and watching everything develop behind me,” said Logano. “When [McDowell] and [Keselowski] hook them they start to come to me with a run, i play a light block, but when Brad moves to the left to overtake me [McDowell’s car] off-center on your bumper. “
Logano then observed how the cars become unstable after pushing – and pointed to the crash on lap 15, which involved 16 cars, as an example of how a bump that went wrong can put a car aside and cause an accident.
“At this point, as I watch in slow motion and try to dissect it, I see Brad’s hands turning to the left and the rear of the car is more to the left than he is, which means he is going right at that moment turning “said Logano. “That’s why I was scored so hard on the left rear and I dodged so fast. That’s how I see it happened.”
It is true that Keselowski’s car starts to swerve before he contacts Logano. It is also true that Logano never had Keselowski’s car fully covered on the block. Did Keselowski deviate from McDowell’s push because he had to keep turning to the left to try to avoid Logano’s block? We may never really know.
Logano also said he did not think anyone involved in the incident had done anything wrong.
“I don’t think anyone has done anything wrong,” said Logano. “Everyone is going to have different perspectives and I think that’s probably where we will be. For me, the biggest disappointment of all is that there are 400 people on Team Penske asking where their Daytona 500 bonus is and it is on fire at turn three now. “
Why Logano and Keselowski didn’t speak
Logano said he did not speak to his longtime companion because he wanted to have a calmer and cooler conversation that was not in the heat of the moment.
“I think everyone is going to be cool, but the analogy I used on SiriusXM a minute ago was that it is a wedding,” said Logano. “When you’re married to someone, you have to find out. You’re married. You don’t just go away. You get married. It must be forever, so when you have conflict or have a difference of opinion, you have to talk about it. . You can’t just roll it under the rug. It just won’t work. It’s not healthy. “
Logano was trying to win his second Daytona 500 on Sunday, while Keselowski was trying the first. Both drivers have Cup Series titles and are guaranteed to the NASCAR Hall of Fame after the end of their Cup Series careers.
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