DOUBLE STANDARD
It looks as if the “new” Joey Logano has become a lightning rod (or punching bag?) among his fellow Sprint Cup competitors. The Ford driver has a running feud with former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, and on Sunday, he made a new steering-wheel enemy in Tony Stewart.
Logano and Hamlin tangled at Phoenix and Bristol and then again on the final lap of Sunday’s race in Fontana, Calif. Naturally, they crashed and Hamlin got the worst of it. Hamlin finished 25th and was airlifted to the hospital, complaining of lower back pain. Logano limped across the line third.
After emerging from his car, Logano was bull-rushed by Tony Stewart, who was upset at Logano for throwing a block on the final restart. Logano was standing next to his car when Stewart thrust himself into the crowd around Logano and tried to throw a punch at the 22-year-old driver.
Stewart gave a profanity-laced interview to Fox, and Logano said he was just doing what he needed to do in order to win the race.
This means more trouble for Logano. Stewart made this subtle threat via his public- relations team: “For a guy that has been complaining about how everybody else is driving here and then (for) him to do that, it’s a double standard. He makes the choice. He makes the decision to run us down there, and when you run a driver down there, then you take responsibility for what happens after that.”
Kyle keeps climbing The wins have slowed, but the goal is still the same for Kyle Busch. The 27-year-old driver swept the Nationwide Series and Cup races at Auto Club Speedway and moved two steps closer to his goal of 200 national series victories.
Right now, the count is 24 Cup, 54 Nationwide and 30 Camping World Truck Series victories — 108 total. He tops the chart in all-time Nationwide wins and continues to gap Mark Martin’s 49-victory effort.
“You work hard, and you give it all you can,” Busch said, adding at the end of the race he “got up on that wheel” to catch and pass Sam Hornish Jr. in the
Nationwide race in California.
Finch powerhouse
Car owner James Finch has used three drivers in five Cup races this season in his No. 51 Chevy and finds himself in a strange position — ninth in the owner points.
Finch, who calls Panama City, Fla., home, has employed the services of drivers AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon and Regan Smith, who has scored the team’s only top-10 finish this season.
Of course, it will be difficult to keep this momentum going, since Phoenix Racing is a tiny operation, but as least it shows there is still a place for a onehorse operation in the Cup Series.