Joey Logano reveals serious NASCAR threat for race manipulation at Phoenix

Joey Logano shared the warning NASCAR said to the drivers ahead of the Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix. While speaking to Kevin Harvick on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Logano said NASCAR would not let drivers compete in next year’s Daytona 500 if involved in race manipulation.

“They did threaten us before the race that if anyone manipulates the race somehow, you are not racing in the Daytona 500 next year,” Logano said. “Is that a threat? Is that real? We’ll know if something happened. I didn’t see anything happen yesterday (Sunday), but this playoff system is a big piece of it and who do you answer to? That’s the question you have to ask, who do you answer to?

“Whoever signed your paycheck is who you answer to. If Chevy or Ford or Toyota are stroking these big checks and say, ‘Hey, it’s very important to have our car in the Championship 4 and we fund a lot of your stuff. You better do the right thing,’ what are you going to do? You’re back up against the wall and it backs NASCAR up against the wall. I don’t know how to fix it.

Race manipulation took place during the Martinsville playoff race last week, leading to NASCAR penalizing Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon. All three drivers competed in the Phoenix race, and based on how it played out, NASCAR likely won’t find any race manipulation.

Joey Logano seems to love the playoff format

Logano didn’t need any help on Sunday as he battled his way to a win and his third Cup Series title. Shortly after the race, Logano spoke to NBC Sports about winning another Cup Series championship.

“I love the playoffs. I love it, man. What a race!” Logano said. “What a Team Penske battle there at the end. Had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12 (Ryan Blaney). And he had a lot of long run speed there, and it was all I had there to hold him off. Man, three of them, that’s really special to get that. What a team.