Joey Logano had a much shorter day on track Sunday at Talladega than his winning Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski.
As the lead pack of cars approached the green/checkered flag to end the first 60-lap stage of the GEICO 500, an aggressive push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. forced Denny Hamlin out of line. In the process, Hamlin hooked the left rear of Logano’s car, which got airborne off the bumper of Stenhouse’s Chevrolet, turned upside down, landed on its roof and barrel-rolled before righting itself.
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Keselowski’s car also sustained minor damage in the incident.
When Logano’s car bounced on its roof, his head hit the roll bar.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Logano said after a mandatory visit to the infield care center. “Denny is trying to go and the 47 (Stenhouse) is trying to go. It’s a product of this racing. We have to fix it, though.
“At the same time, I’m appreciative of driving a car that is this safe and what Team Penske has done for the safety of these cars so that I can live to talk about it and go again.
“I got lucky that I didn’t get hit while I was in the air.”
Reid Spencer writes for the NASCAR Wire Service.