"He hooked me and ran his mouth" - When Joey Logano reflected on intense rivalry that led to Denny Hamlin's back fracture

Joey Logano once talked about the 2013 wrecking incident with Denny Hamlin that led to the latter driver sustaining a back fracture. In an interview with Graham Bensinger last year, Logano said he didn’t let Hamlin win the 2013 Auto Club 400 because his rival hooked him and ran his mouth the week before at Bristol.

Logano is a 34-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver under Team Penske. He started his full-time Cup career with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009, alongside Denny Hamlin as his teammate. However, they became rivals when Logano joined Team Penske four years later, as evidenced by the 2013 Auto Club 400.

Speaking with Bensinger about the incident, Joey Logano said Denny Hamlin wrecked him in Bristol and showed no remorse.

“He hooked me in Bristol the week before, showed no remorse, and ran his mouth,” Logano said. [3:45]

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion added that he was never going to let his former teammate win after their incident the week before.

“You got someone that wrecked you and showed no respect to you or no remorse about the situation and actually talked more crap about it after he wrecked you, and now you’re racing for a win, you’re going in the final corner, the next week, what are you going to do? Well, I know one thing, he’s not winning. If I’m not winning, he’s not winning. That’s for sure,” Logano stated. [3:57]

He added:

“I don’t think I changed that. I don’t change that part of that.”

The 2013 Auto Parts Club 400 in Fontana witnessed a neck-and-neck battle between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin for the win. The No. 22 Ford made contact with the No. 11 Toyota on the final lap, causing the latter car to hit the inside wall and injure the driver. The L1 compression fracture injury sidelined him for four races.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch passed the two drivers from the outside to take victory at the Auto Club Speedway.

Since the infamous incident in 2013, Joey Logano has won two NASCAR Cup Series championships (2018, 2022) with Team Penske.

Now, the driver has the chance to make it three after, having locked himself in the Championship 4 this year. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is fighting to keep his playoff hopes alive in the final race of the Round of 8 which will take place this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

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Joey Logano is already preparing for the championship race at Phoenix Raceway

With Joey Logano having qualified for the Championship 4, the No. 22 team is already planning their practice and setup for the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. While the focus is on the Phoenix race, the driver said the team won’t let up in the remaining Round of 8 races.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio before the Homestead-Miami race, the Connecticut native said:

“Don't get me wrong, like we're not going to lay up. But the focus has to be on Phoenix. If we earned that right to to be able to do that, it would be a total waste if we did not take advantage of that, right? I mean, it would be, it would be horrible to think to not use that. So that's going to come at a price of something and go be at a price of, you know, maybe these next few races.”

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race will be held at Phoenix Raceway on November 10. As of now, Logano and Tyler Reddick are the two drivers locked in the championship fight.