The frightening wreck involving Ryan Newman is the primary focus following Monday’s running of the Daytona 500. However, there is another incident that occurred earlier in the race that is drawing nearly as much attention. Driver Joey Logano is being criticized for seemingly causing a wreck that affected nearly half of the field.
The incident occurred with 16 laps remaining in the Great American Race. Logano was driving aggressively and was pushing Aric Almirola from behind. These pushes caused Almirola’s vehicle to hook Brad Keselowski’s car from behind and sent him into the wall.
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A chain reaction occurred as Keselowski’s car hit Almirola’s, knocking them both out of the race, and then continued to collide with other vehicles further back in the pack. Some drivers were forced onto the infield grass while others were slammed into the walls and their opponents.
“Oh look, Logano does it again,” one frustrated user commented. They also included the trash can emoji to truly show their feelings about the driver. Another said that Logano should be responsible for the damage he caused.
“The owners should send the repair bills for all the cars he wrecked in the clash and in the 500 tonight to Joey I can’t drive a race car Logano,” a Twitter user added.
This massive wreck included Jimmie Johnson, Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, David Ragan, John Hunter Nemechek and many more.
Keselowski, Johnson, Busch, and DiBenedetto were among those eliminated while Blaney was able to continue racing. Somehow, the collisions avoided Logano as he continued to chase down Newman and Denny Hamlin. Keselowski’s car spun to the right while Almirola’s headed left as Logano barely avoided the collision.
“That No. 22 car (Logano) had been pretty aggressive all day long,” Johnson said following the race. “I just felt like it was a matter of time before his pushes were a little much and it looks like that was the case there.”
With this incident eliminating many favorite drivers from the competition, the fans responded by saying that he should face punishment, whether it is legal or decidedly less so. For example, one Twitter user called for the other drivers to “target” Logano early in order to remove the danger of future wrecks. They also called for NASCAR to allow this vengeance to take place.
Logano ultimately finished the Daytona 500 in 26th place after being passed by some of the cars involved in the wreck. Almirola, Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek all passed him prior to crossing the finish line.
(Photo Credit: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
