CHICAGO — Three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano climbed out of his Team Penske Ford parked on Columbus Drive on a hot and humid Sunday (July 6) afternoon. He did it in a hurry.
He turned around, raised his arms and began a shouting match with fellow Cup Series driver Ross Chastain.
Only feet away from him, Bubba Wallace, who had finished 28th on the Chicago street course that day, stormed away from fellow driver Alex Bowman. The two had their own beef as well.
Indeed, it was a hot and frustrating day for many in Chicago.
It began with a hot and humid Sunday afternoon drive through Grant Park. It didn’t take long for disaster to start flaring tempers early on. On lap 4, in fact, a nine-car pileup took a many hopeful drivers out early.
Even by then, tempers began to simmer.
However, it wasn’t until the final stage of the event did emotions began to boil over.
During a late-race restart on lap 62, Logano restarted behind Chastain’s Chevrolet. As they shifted through the gears while entering turn 1, the No. 22 Ford appeared to have been hit from behind and into the No. 1 of Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing car got hit again from a wide-arcing Kyle Larson in turn 1. The result was the Floridian watermelon farmer having an intimate moment with the tire barriers.
Amid the contact, Logano slipped past Chastain heading toward turn 2. Upon entry, the No. 1 sailed deep into the 90-degree corner and punted the No. 22 from behind, likewise sending the Penske driver into the barrier and taking Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of the race altogether.
It wasn’t until a few moments later that Chastain was told on the radio it was the No. 2 of Austin Cindric that had forced drivers wide into the corner.
“He just sees red and does dumb stuff,” Logano told media post-race. “I mean that’s twice this year on road courses at the end of these things I’ve been tossed by Ross [Chastain].”
Less than 10 laps after their incident, another heated battle began between 23XI Racing driver Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports driver Bowman.
The duo, who also happened to be paired against one another in NASCAR’s In-Season Bracket Challenge, were racing hard for fifth position in the final five laps of the race. Wallace attempted to shift toward the inside of Bowman in the final corner when he hooked the No. 48 slightly, sending the Arizona native wide.
Upon entering the frontstretch, Wallace attempted to clear himself and clipped the No. 48, putting them both in the wall.
Miraculously, the two remained side-by-side through the frontstretch and turn 1. Upon exiting turn 2, however, Wallace tried to clear himself again as they raced through Grant Park’s Lakeshore Drive.
Bowman didn’t back off as much the second time.
“Yeah, he stuffed me right in the fence,” Bowman told media post-race. “So, at that point, you’re just trying to get the car straightened out, and I felt like I bounced between him and the fence a couple times. I certainly didn’t mean to right rear him. I was just trying to go straight and start accelerating there. Yeah, just one of those deals.”
Logano’s day ended with him in 11th, while Wallace suffered a broken toe link and finished 28th, five laps down.
Both drivers had heated exchanges post-race.
“Yeah, he admitted it,” Logano said. “He admitted he wrecked me, which means he should get fined if he admittedly wrecked someone on purpose. That’s not okay.”
Bowman, who had a similar run-in with Wallace in the same race a year ago, didn’t feel he was to blame.
“I thought we had squashed our beef, but clearly we have not,” Bowman said. “I’d have to watch it back to be certain, but I felt like he kind of did it to himself just because I got pinballed in between him and the outside wall.
“I’m just trying to grasp why he did what he did. When you’re at that big of a tire disadvantage, I don’t know why you just continually try to wreck a guy that’s on fresher tires. We’ve been around each other so many times since the last time we were here that I really thought we had squashed our beef, but clearly, we haven’t.”
Wallace did speak to NASCAR.com‘s Zack Albert outside of the care center later on. The 23XI Racing driver appeared to have a cooler head as time passed and the two were able to speak to each other, directly.
“I’m just proud of the effort,” Wallace told NASCAR.com outside the care center. “You know, late call on the No. 5 that got us spun. Hated that. Just when you think everything’s going okay, but we were able to jump ship and switch up plans, put us right back in the race. So, man, I was passing cars, having fun, showing that we keep improving and keep building confidence. We’ll be fine. So, hate to see it end that way. It was fun. Fun with the No. 48. No love lost, all good.”
Bowman, after speaking to Wallace, shared the mutual sentiment.
“I wish I would have talked to him before all my interviews, because I did all the interviews under the context that he thought I right-reared him and just crashed him,” Bowman told NASCAR.com outside his hauler. “And then I talked to him, and he thought I was crossing him over and he was clear outside. Spotters can’t see over there, and I was just outside of him, and he moved up.I hate to say he did it to himself, but he did it to himself, and that’s what he was saying, like he thought I was crossing over.
“So yeah, I hate that I did a bunch of interviews like, ‘What the hell, man?’ But yeah, I’m sure he’s not happy that he got crashed, but at the same time, like I’m between him and the fence. There’s not so much you can do.”
Bowman and Chastain finished eighth and 10th, respectively. It is not clear how Logano will race Chastain moving forward. However, with another road course in Sonoma Raceway hosting the Cup Series next weekend, there are chances of some more hurt feelings occurring in the near future.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT