Joey Logano No. 22 pit crew tightens wheel for Brad Keselowski during Southern 500 at Darlington

Is this going to be a regular occurrence now? Joey Logano’s pit crew tightened the left front tire on Brad Keselowski’s car. After an issue with the No. 6 pit stop, Keselowski found himself in the Team Penske pit box. The NASCAR Playoff team didn’t hesitate.

With the frequency of these tire issues on pit road, this is becoming a regular thing now in the Cup Series. Dive into a teammate’s box or the box of a manufacturer teammate and get the tire put on or tightened up.

Keselowski was quick to get to Joey Logano’s box. Just like his old days at Penske, right?

That's some heads-up thinking by @keselowski. pic.twitter.com/W3CageB56u

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 31, 2025

Now, Brad Keselowski received a penalty. You can’t do that without having to do a pass-through. But there is no penalty for Joey Logano and his crew. Perhaps NASCAR will look into changing that in the future, but for now, this is a perfectly legal move.

What happens when a driver from another playoff team stops in a playoff driver’s pit box? Does the crew still help them, even if they aren’t on the same team and only tied by manufacturer? That remains to be seen.

This race has had a fair share of moments on pit road already. Alex Bowman had a nightmare stop. The beginning of the race began with Josh Berry wrecking in front of the field. It’s been a wild Southern 500, and we aren’t even done with the first stage yet.

Joey Logano lagging behind early

When it comes to the NASCAR Playoff drivers, Joey Logano is one of the few lagging behind the rest of the group. Josh Berry and Alex Bowman are going to be in must-win situations after tonight. That’s just how that is. Then SVG is next on the chopping block.

After those three, Logano is next up. He’s running in the mid-teens through the first stage. Not bad. He could even be a few adjustments away from the top-five. You never know with Logano. You don’t see him for 480 miles, and with a few laps to go, he shows up and takes the race away.

With Logano’s points situation going into the race, he has to do better. He’s not in a dire situation, just a few points from the cutline. But we have seen two drivers essentially pushed to must-win situations today.

Joey Logano has avoided trouble so far. Now he has to get out there and find the speed in his car so he can put himself in a position to advance.