Kenny Wallace defends Roger Penske's star driver against Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s criticism after Daytona 500

The 67th running of the Daytona 500 saw a massive crash on Lap 186, instigated by Team Penske's Joey Logano, that involved Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney. Stenhouse Jr. criticized Logano for making a move when there wasn't enough space for it. However, former NASCAR reporter Kenny Wallace came out and defended Team Penske's star driver.

The Hyak Motorsports driver, who was in the lead pack was sent to the back of the grid following the crash along with Logano. Looking at the incident, it seemed like Joey Logano tried to go for a gap between Stenhouse and Blaney, and collected the latter as there wasn't enough space for a move.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. detailed the same during his post-race interviews suggesting that Logano could've been more patient with his move. However, Kenny Wallace suggests that it wasn't Logano's fault. The former NASCAR race driver uploaded a video on social media platform X reviewing the Daytona 500 and defended Logano's move.

“That's always guilty for Ricky, don't usually wreck on his own. He usually gets in a wreck because he's going at it with somebody,” Wallace said (2:05 onwards).

“I'm neutral in this. I'm gonna tell you why I see it. Joey Logano makes the move to pass Ricky Stenhouse, and Ricky makes the move a little too late, turns left. You clearly hear from the in car camera. You see the exhaust pipes. Joey Logano is clearly out of the gas. He does not want to run into him.

“Now, you have Noah Gragson behind Joey Logano trying to lay off him. Noah Gragson is now pushing Logano into what will be the wreck. That's my takeaway," Wallace added.

The Team Penske driver spoke with the media after the Daytona 500 and claimed that the indecisiveness on Stenhouse Jr.’s end was the reason behind the massive crash on Lap 186.

Joey Logano blames Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s “indecisive moment” for the 2025 Daytona 500 mayhem

Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Noah Gragson were all running in the lead pack before the almighty crash in the final tenth of the race. Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, and Todd Gilliland were also collected by the mayhem.

Logano spoke with Frontstretch after the latest Daytona 500 and detailed why he felt it was Stenhouse Jr. who instigated the mayhem. He said,

“Ah it seemed like the #47 had an indecisive moment and that's where things get a little troubled at times. I went to the second lane and I felt like I had to get in front of the #47 there and I had to get to the second car in my row to have a chance to win the race.”

Joey Logano and Kyle Busch's cars were damaged beyond repairs following the crash as they retired from the race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. managed to continue and finished the race in P18.