"He had an ally" - Denny Hamlin makes opinion clear about the Roger Penske alliance aiding Joey Logano’s triumph, Ryan Blaney fiercely denies

Two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano emerged victorious in the South Point 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin shared his opinion on Team Penske's strategy with Logano and Ryan Blaney during the recent Actions Detrimental podcast.

Logano has had a roller-coaster-like journey in the 2024 Playoffs in the past few weeks. The Connecticut-born racer had briefly exited at the end of the Round of 12 at Charlotte. However, Alex Bowman's disqualification during the post-race inspection gave Logano a second chance to compete for a third title. Surviving the chaotic multi-car wreck during Stage 2 of the South Point race which caught his teammate by surprise, Logano began pushing for the win in the final stage.

The #22 driver also got help from Blaney, helping in saving fuel for the final push. With everything lining up in favor of Logano, the 34-year-old clinched both the first place in the race and a Championship 4 berth.

Denny Hamlin spoke about Team Penske's strategy with Blaney and Logano which helped the latter grab the win. The #11 JGR racer shared his opinion on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

"My quick reaction was yeah, certainly, and especially if I was told to. But I didn’t think about how Logano winning does hurt Blaney’s point situation. We’ve seen the Penske teammates work well if not the best of any of helping each other in those types of situations," Hamlin said (38:46 onwards).

"He had an ally there that was around him helping him down the straightaways which allowed him to save fuel and run the speed to pass the 99 [Daniel Suárez] and get the win," he added (39:52 onwards).

Here's a look at the entire podcast from YouTube:

Meanwhile, the second-placed finisher Christopher Bell claimed that Blaney played a defensive role to aid Logano. Speaking with the senior NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, the reigning Cup Series champion denied Bell's claims.

"20 didn’t get to me until the last corner. I don’t know what the hell you think I’m blocking for. I’m running the top, I’m not taking anyone’s air away. He should have maybe got to the 22 quicker, he would have been able to pass me pretty easy. But he was half a lap too late," Blaney said (0:49 onwards).

Here's a look at the interaction shared on X by Pockrass.

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"That is just in our DNA all the way through" - Joey Logano highlights Team Penske's collective effort during the South Point 400 race at Las Vegas

While Joey Logano took the win at Las Vegas, he credits the victory to Team Penske's collective efforts. The two-time Cup Series champion highlighted the bonding between teammates in the squad during the post-race interview.

"I don’t think there’s a team out there that works better together than Team Penske. That is just in our DNA all the way through. That started years and years and years ago. I can’t even take credit for being part of that. From when I got there (in 2013), the openness between team to team," Logano said.

"Been around long enough to realize that it’s good to see your teammate win. I know you want to be the top dog, right? Obviously. The more I’m around the sport, the more I realize how that really raises the whole team. Then you build relationships with people that make you happy to see. It affects their life, right? Those bonuses are real for the teams. Anything you can do to help those people that you care about is something really special to me," he added.

With just two races remaining before the grand finale, Logano will likely be looking to carry the momentum from Vegas and win his third title at Phoenix.