The 2024 NASCAR Cup season was kicked off early following the postponement of the LA Clash due to a weather scare. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin survived the chaos in the drama-filled race and secured the exhibition race win. The race witnessed multiple clashes among drivers, re-igniting some old rivalries and starting a few new ones.
The most dramatic one of the day was the clash between Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs. The 21-year-old JGR driver sends Logano to the wall during the re-start in an attempt to run wide and ruin both of their races while fighting for the lead. Hamlin used this to his advantage to take the lead and later the win.
Logano and Gibbs have had issues in the past, with the clash last year at Martinsville being the highlight. Both parties had moved on, but the LA Clash incident has put Logano in a tough situation. While talking about the incident and the heated confrontation later, he admitted that he no longer knew how to approach the beef with the youngster.
So, obviously, I’m mad about that. At that point, I wanted to make sure he knew that I was pretty upset about that and that’s not acceptable. Now, where do we go from here? I don’t know. I don’t know. We had a conversation; he said all the right things. His words don’t mean nothing to me anymore, so I’m not going to talk to him. But I don’t really know the next to do. … I’m at a loss at this point. Logano said, as reported by NBC Sports.
Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs had a meaningful conversation after the Martinsville clash in 2023
Logano, a two-time Cup champion, revealed that the last time he had a clash with Gibbs, the rookie driver called him and re-cancelled. They talked for about 30 minutes, and Gibbs left a huge impression on Logano, who came to the Cup scene at such a young age as Gibbs and had the same aggressive racing style.
Seeing how humble Gibbs was, Logano admitted that he wished he could do the same with the senior driver after an incident back in his rookie years. They decide to race each other respectfully from that day and never to have such incidents again.
All that respect Gibbs earned that day has gone after the recent incident, and one thing history has thought the NASCAR garage is that Joey Logano, despite being one of the senior drivers, isn’t a guy to have beef with. He has proven many times that he would not. Hesitate to be as aggressive now as he was in his rookie years.
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