Kyle Petty calls Joey Logano a 'big winner' after Darlington

Kyle Petty recognized Joey Logano as one of the biggest winners during Sunday’s NASCAR Playoff opener at Darlington.

The reigning NASCAR champion dealt with a myriad of issues throughout the race, including Bubba Wallace spinning into him. However, he was able to come home in P12, an awesome finish considering everything he went through during the race.

“I looked at yesterday and I thought, another big winner yesterday, Joey Logano,” explained Petty. “Those guys struggled. They set the front toe. They set the rear toe. He hung in there. They came out with a twelfth-place finish.”

Alas, Logano might not have won the race, but he did more than enough to keep his repeat dream alive. It hasn’t been the best season for the Team Penske wheelman following his championship, but it’s anyone’s game come the NASCAR Playoffs.

Joey Logano gave his team a shot moving forward with his gritty performance. Now, he’ll look to keep the ball rolling, with Kansas on the docket.

Kyle Larson wins Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, advances to Round of 12

Continuing, Kyle Larson has won at Darlington in the Cook Out Southern 500 and will advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs. This is the first time Larson has ever won at Darlington and it is his first Southern 500. 

An old-fashioned battle between two of NASCAR’s best young drivers, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson. Let’s not forget Chris Buescher put his nose into this thing to prove he was still the hottest car in the field. 

However, the night, and the win at the Southern 500, belonged to Kyle Larson. This is his third win of the season and earns him a spot in the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs.

Kyle Larson started off the season strong. He looked like he was the short track king with strong performances at Las Vegas and Phoenix as well as Richmond and Martinsville. However, the team stopped being so dominant after he won the All-Star Race. 

Reddick gave a hard effort at the end of the race. It just didn’t look like he had the air or the speed to catch Larson at the very end of the race. The 45 team had a good points day but came up short of the win and will be wondering what more they could have done.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.