Joey Logano weighs in on penalties to 23XI, RCR, Trackhouse, whether they will make a difference

Joey Logano is interested to see if NASCAR’s punishment to the teams of Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace sends a message to other drivers. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Logano was asked about how the penalties would impact the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race on Sunday.

“It’s kind of hard to say. The beneficiaries of it are still in it, and nothing happened,” Logano said, per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “You tell me if it was good enough or not. Did it work or did it not? Was it worth it? I don’t know, I’m not NASCAR. I’m not the person that can make the call on that stuff. Just driving cars. You just hope everyone races fairly.”

Chastain (Trackhouse Racing), Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) and Wallace (23XI Racing) were punished by NASCAR for race manipulation. Chastain and Dillon were accused of blocking other drivers for Chevrolet teammate William Bryon, and Wallace was accused of slowing down for Toyota teammate Christopher Bell. Byron and Bell were batting for a spot in the championship race. They finished tied in points, and Bell won the tiebreaker. However, NASCAR penalized Bell for a wall-riding incident at the end of the race, and Byron will race for the title with Logano, Tyler Reddick and defending champion Ryan Blaney at Phoenix.

Joey Logano talks about clinching Championship 4 spot

NASCAR fined Chastain, Dillon and Wallace $100,000, and each driver lost 50 points. Additionally, the driver’s crew chiefs, spotters and a team executive from each team are suspended from the Phoenix race.

Logano clinched a spot in the Championship 4 after winning the Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas. He’s looking to win the second Cup Series title in his career after winning it all in 2022.

“So proud of our race team all the way through,” Logano told reporters after the Last Vegas race last month. “This group of guys, they’re truly incredible. They’re good people, which is one of the things I’m most proud of, but they’re really smart. In the Playoffs, they’re able to really be able to keep a level head and maximize the races no matter what’s dealt with them.”