Los Angeles Clash at the Coliseum winner Joey Logano is back on the winning stage for the first time since the pre-season. Over the weekend, Logano was added to NASCAR’s winning record for the 2022 season after he pocketed his first win at Darlington.
The finishing lap has become more aggressive in recent races, and Logano made an aggressive move towards Byron, who was leading the race, sending him back to the top fifteen in Darlington. As Joey Logano collected the checkered flag, Byron nursed the dents after Logano bumped into him, taking the 13th finish.
After the race, a furious Byron didn’t take the move lightly since he believed Logano was fast enough to edge him from the left rear instead of knocking him down. As a result of Logano’s miscalculated move, Bryon referred to him as an "idiot" and a "moron."
In a post-race interview, Logano was asked if he was affected by Byron's words. In his response, Logano laughed and said:
“I have been called a lot of things much worse than a moron, I just witnessed it when I got out of the car.”
After two long weekends in Talladega and Dover, Logano eventually proved his capability when it came to racing after converting a pole to a win. The No. 22 driver started the weekend in a good mood by collecting his first pole of the season.
Joey Logano struggles to take the win at Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway
The pole would later serve as a breakthrough for his win, becoming the first driver this season to convert a pole into a win despite hitting the track with a long shot.
His dominance began when the race went green, leading a few laps before Kyle Larson took over and held it for two laps before reclaiming it. Still in stage one, Busch had a chance to take control and led a few laps before being passed by Logano.
In stage one, Joey Logano was sitting in the top three and ended up leading the most laps in the 90 laps of stage one. Stage three became tougher as Byron came into the picture, giving him a run for his career in the final laps.
Byron led 24 laps in the final stages, running closely with Joey Logano. After a long run, Logano ended up slamming Byron on the final lap and took the checkered flag, while Tyler Reddick followed as the runner-up.