Roger Penske had some strong words for those criticizing Joey Logano’s last lap move to get by Martin Truex Jr. Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Logano led 309 laps in Sunday’s opening race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8. But it took some contact on the final turn of the last lap to allow Logano to slip ahead and go on to win guaranteeing him a spot in the Championship 4 title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Truex Jr. cried foul and there were many boos coming from the grandstands as Logano celebrated the win. However, team owner Roger Penske said the criticism was unwarranted and Truex Jr.’s comment it was a “cheap shot” was off base.
“I certainly didn’t,” Penske said if he saw it that way. “He’s a racer and should know better than to say that. That’s as clean a shot as you can have in a race like this. I didn’t hear Kyle Busch or the 42 have any kind of conversation after that race (at Chicagoland Speedway in July).
“To me, I’m really looking forward. We want to go to Miami. Joey ran a great race. As far as I’m concerned, that’s just a comment that I don’t think we deserve. We’ll race him day after day. Stirring some controversy that he’s trying to spread. From my perspective, Joey drove a great race. The team won on pit road. You can see that, how many times he got out front. Leading the number of laps shows the job that (crew chief) Todd (Gordon) and the team did. That’s my position.”
Penske reiterated why he felt so strongly about the criticism that came from many after Sunday’s finish.
“I think Joey drove a great race,” he said. “He didn’t knock him off the racetrack. It was side by side racing at the end. You could see that. Nobody lifted.
“To me, I want to make sure people know my position. I thought it was fair, I thought it was square, and Joey deserved the win.”
