Denny Hamlin reacts to Joey Logano, Ryan Preece Talladega DQ

Denny Hamlin watched as Joey Logano and Ryan Preece both drove their way to top five finishes at Talladega Superspeedway this past weekend. Then, the Ford tandem was disqualified by NASCAR.

Officials found Logano’s No. 22 to be in violation of Section 14.5.8.E, which covers spoiler braces that are used as superspeedway events. He was also in violation of Section 14.1.P under General Vehicle Assembly, which states, “All fasteners must be securely fastened at all times during an Event,” per NASCAR.

As for Preece, “The infraction stemmed from an unintentional adjustment during pre-race inspection to correct a spoiler angle issue. While the change did not provide a competitive advantage, it did not meet the approved compliance method,” RFK Racing revealed.

Teams are always looking for an advantage at superspeedways, and Logano and Preece thought they found one, but it ended up costing them in the end. On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin reacted to the punishment that was dished out by NASCAR in Alabama.

“I don’t think the Penske team could get out a press release quick enough, ‘We’re not not appealing. Everything’s fine. Just move on,’” Hamlin joked, regarding Team Penske’s reaction to Logano’s disqualification as his teammate Austin Cindric won at Talladega. “If you remember, I think Rodney [Childers] in the No. 4 car had like, three windshield bolts missing out of their front windshield. It doesn’t matter why, there’s no reason they should come loose.”

Meanwhile, Hamlin didn’t exactly understand why Preece was disqualified, but he knows what the underlying reason was: “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m sure a few of the NASCAR podcasts will kind of break down exactly what it was. … Most all penalties that you’re going to see coming on a superspeedway is because the teams are trying to do everything they can to get that spoiler out of the air, by either deflecting it from the front, or making it invisible from the rear, because that’s how the car goes faster,” the veteran wheelman added.

All told, the disqualifications were a big blow to Preece and Logano, as they both finished in the top five at Talladega. Preece finished second behind the confirmed winner in Cindric, and Logano finished fifth. With the disqualifications, Preece and Logano earned 38th and 39th finishes on Sunday, respectively. 

Moving forward, Ryan Preece and Joey Logano will be hoping to bounce back in a big way, while Denny Hamlin will be looking to continue his strong 2025. We’ll see if any of them can get the job done at Texas this coming weekend.