Joey Logano believes Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SIRIUSXM NASCAR Radio) is likely to be a wild affair—and that’s from the guy who won Thursday night’s first America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona qualifying race.
In other words, drivers can bump-draft at their own peril, even on the straightaways.
“I think the whole field has learned that pushing each other is pretty sketchy,” Logano said after taking the checkered flag. “I was thinking about it driving over here (to the media center). The DAYTONA 500 could be a total wreck-fest, ’cause if you think about the Duels, it’s a heat race, and everyone is like, ‘Don’t tear up your car, get what you can out of it, but don’t crash.’
“We wrecked a lot of stuff (in the first Duel). That’s everyone not racing for the DAYTONA 500, so… Say a prayer. It’s going to be crazy.”
Even though Logano and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney worked well together to finish 1-2, Logano was concerned about drivers’ ability to push each other, particularly when they’re not driving the same manufacturer’s cars.
“Everyone’s ‘push-ability’ seems awful,” said Logano, the 2015 DAYTONA 500 winner. “I didn’t see any car that was taking a push that was, like, comfortable on the straightaways. A lot of cars were just squirrelly, right? I haven’t watched replays yet, but all the wrecks happened on the straightaways. I’m assuming that’s from pushes more times than not. I’m assuming everyone’s push-ability is weak.”
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