Joey Logano admitted that he was a sore loser a day after coming up a spot short for the win at the NASCAR All-Star Race while also retracting the comments he made about how Christopher Bell raced him.
With 11 laps to go in the race Christopher Bell had tracked down Logano and was not afraid to use his fenders to move him out of the way and that’s exactly what he did in order to claim the top spot. Bell dove to the bottom of Logano in turn 1 and pushed him up the track. However, Logano stayed beside him going down the back stretch. Heading into turn 3, Logano initially appeared as if he was going to pinch Bell down, but then Bell pushed him up. Logano then appeared to briefly get out of the gas and Bell was able to complete the pass.
OLD-FASHIONED SHORT TRACK RACIN’ ‼️
Check out Christopher Bell’s RACE WINNING MOVE over Joey Logano for his first #AllStarRace win!
🎥: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/2JtWKyFLSp
— ATYL Media (@ATYLmedia) May 19, 2025
Immediately following the race, Logano told Fox Sports, ““I’m glad you had a blast. I’m pissed off right now. … I did all I could do to hold him off. And he got under me and just released the brake, gave me no option. He kind of just ran me up into the wall. And if I could have got to him, he was going around after a move like, I just couldn’t get back to him. Just too much to try to make up with the tire deficit.”
“So just frustrated after you lead so many laps and the car is so fast and you don’t win. It hurts quite a bit,” he concluded.
He doubled down on those comments as well as his promise to spin Bell while speaking to Matt Weaver and other members of the media. He said, “I was going to show him what fair was, I just couldn’t get there. I just couldn’t get there with the tires. I couldn’t get away fast enough. I took me 6, 7 laps after that restart to get rolling again. And then he passed too many cars there that first couple of laps. And then he was there.”
“I was doing all I can to play defense and so my rear tires would come in, and it just took too long,” he continued. “And then he was gone. I couldn’t catch back up. Yeah. Frustrating, but, you know, when you lead that many laps, you have the fastest car, and give them a caution beats you. It just sucks, but it is what it is. You move on.”
Wwhen asked how he would race with Bell moving forward, he said, “Oh, I just race him the same way. That’s all it is. Like I said, race for a million dollars, I get it, but we race each other every week and we’re like elephants, we don’t forget anything.”
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) May 19, 2025
A day following the race while he and his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney and their teams were being honored by the mayor of Mooresville and its Town Board, Logano retracted his comments about the way Bell raced him.
As reported by NBC Sports, Logano said, “When I went back and re-watched it, I was like, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. If he did that (move Logano up the track) the first time he got to me, I’d be like, ‘Dude, why would you do that?’ But he made solid attempts to pass me. I ran him all up and down the racetrack. So I opened the door. Like at that point, I opened the door (to more aggressive racing). I had to do that to try to maintain the lead.”
“But it also to me, it was like, ‘OK, well, if you’re willing to do that, you should be able to move that person up the racetrack. Then I should have been able to get back at him,'” he continued. “I set the tone that we’re going to race like assholes. It’s OK that he did that to me. But in the moment you’re just pissed, right? You’re just like, ‘He ran me up the track.’ Then when I watched it, I was like, ‘Nah, it’s probably warranted.’”
“So, I shouldn’t have said that (after the race). You’re mad. It is what it is. He knocked me up and then moved me up. Would I have done the same? Probably. Especially after someone ran me all over the racetrack like I did, I probably would have done the same,” he admitted. “I’m a really bad loser. I’m a sore loser. I can’t help it. It is who I am, but I think that’s also what makes us winners.”