In a thrilling finish, the Team Penske driver bumped Martin Truex Jr. out of the way on the final lap, got sideways, then virtually slid across the finish line for the win.

It’s the 20th win of Logano’s career and his second this season, but more importantly, it clinches him a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead in the playoff finale next month.

“I was just trying to be as defensive as I could,” Logano told NBCSN afterward. “We were both running hard. You’ve just got to expect it at Martinsville, you’re going to have some bumping and grinding in the race.”

Truex was not happy with Logano’s move, and gave him a big bump on the cool-down lap.

“He may have won the battle, but he’s not going to win the damn war,” Truex told NBCSN.

Logano led 309 of the 500 laps. He got great pit stops all day, and his crew got him off pit road first for a late-race restart. But he had plenty of challengers toward the end, including teammate Brad Keselowski, Truex and Kyle Busch.

Keselowski and Logano battled for the lead for several laps, but Truex passed Keselowski and immediately reeled in Logano. The two spent the final few laps battling side by side and nose to tail, before Truex, who had a faster car, got by on the final lap.

Truex had the checkered flag in sight when Logano pulled his bump-and-run move, and the two drivers briefly lost control before Logano got by coming to the flag. Denny Hamlin snuck by Truex for second.

“What goes around comes around,” Truex told NBCSN.

When informed of Truex’s remark, Logano was unapologetic.

“That’s expected there … but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” Logano said.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup results at Martinsville

  1. Joey Logano2. Denny Hamlin3. Martin Truex Jr.4. Kyle Busch5. Brad Keselowski6. Kurt Busch7. Chase Elliott 8. Ryan Newman9. Daniel Suarez10. Kevin Harvick11. Aric Almirola12. Jimmie Johnson13. Chris Buescher14. AJ Allmendinger15. Ty Dillon16. Jamie McMurray17. Alex Bowman18. David Ragan19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.20. Ryan Blaney21. Clint Bowyer22. Paul Menard23. Matt Kenseth24. Cole Whitt25. Michael McDowell26. Erik Jones27. D.J. Kensington28. Regan Smith29. Ross Chastain30. Austin Dillon31. J.J. Yeley32. Landon Cassill33. Jeb Burton34. Bubba Wallace35. Joey Gase36. Matt DiBenedetto37. Kyle Larson38. Timmy Hill39. William Byron40. Hermie Sadler

0 votes