Joey Logano looked to be out of contention for the race win with 10 laps to go at Darlington during Sunday’s Goodyear 400.
That is, until he made a late-race run to the bumper of William Byron’s No. 24 car in the waning moments of the race.
Logano got into the back of Byron’s car, putting the No. 24 into the wall and speeding away to victory lane to capture his first regular season win of the year.
“You’re not going to put me into the wall and not get anything back,” Logano said on Fox Sports 1. “That’s not how it works. I’m so proud of this race team. Great execution all day long.”
JOEY LOGANO MOVES BYRON TO WIN AT DARLINGTON!!!!!!#NASCAR @AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/VFANv6qf1B
— Mr Matthew CFB 🇺🇦 (@MrMatthewCFB) May 8, 2022
When asked on the Fox Sports 1 broadcast if it was a retaliatory move, Byron denied the suggestion and added some strong words to describe the driver of the Team Penske No. 22.
“No, we were really close off of turn two,” Byron said. “I think it spooked him and got him tight. He was right against the wall and I got the lead. “He’s just an idiot. He does this stuff all the time.”
“He’s just a moron,” Byron said. “He can’t win a race, so he does it that way.”
Logano becomes the 10th winner in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, while Tyler Reddick and Justin Haley collect podium finishes.
The series returns to the track on Sunday at Kansas Speedway, with the race broadcast scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT on Fox Sports 1.
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid
After 12 of 26 regular season races
1. William Byron (2 wins) 388 points
2. Ross Chastain (2 wins) 364
3. Chase Elliott (1 win) 453
4. Joey Logano (1 win) 374
5. Kyle Busch (1 win) 364
6. Alex Bowman (1 win) 357
7. Kyle Larson (1 win) 336
8. Chase Briscoe (1 win) 287
9. Austin Cindric (1 win) 258
10. Denny Hamlin (1 win) 231
11. Ryan Blaney +102 pts above cutoff
12. Martin Truex Jr. +78
13. Christopher Bell +41
14. Kevin Harvick +27
15. Aric Almirola +25
16. Austin Dillon +1
Playoff Cutoff
17. Tyler Reddick -1
18. Erik Jones -5
19. Daniel Suarez -18
NASCAR Cup Series Results
Goodyear 400
Darlington Raceway
Sunday, May 8
1. Joey Logano
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Justin Haley
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Chase Elliott
6. Christopher Bell
7. Michael McDowell
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
9. Austin Dillon
10. Daniel Suarez
11. Aric Almirola
12. Ty Dillon
13. William Byron
14. Harrison Burton
15. Todd Gilliland
16. Chris Buescher
17. Ryan Blaney
18. Austin Cindric
19. Cody Ware
20. Chase Briscoe
21. Denny Hamlin
22. Landon Cassill
23. JJ Yeley
24. Martin Truex Jr.
25. Erik Jones
26. Cole Custer
27. Bubba Wallace
28. Kurt Busch
29. Alex Bowman
30. Ross Chastain
31. Daniel Hemric
32. BJ McLeod
33. Kyle Busch
34. Brad Keselowski
35. Corey LaJoie
36. Kyle Larson
