“That's how people role-play stuff here in NASCAR”: When Roger Penske delivered a stern statement on Joey Logano & Co.’s penalty

Joey Logano's boss, Roger Penske, once strongly defended the #22 Ford Mustang driver following a race manipulation penalty at Richmond Raceway. The billionaire Team Penske owner was overseas when the drama transpired and expressed his views at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Logano overtook rival David Gilliland during the closing stages of the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400, finishing 22nd and registering his first Chase spot.

However, before the playoffs began, the officials gave Front Row Motorsports and Team Penske a probation penalty. It stemmed after a radio communication surfaced wherein Gilliland was reportedly intimidated by his crew chief Frank Kerr; the #38 team would be rewarded if they paved the way for Logano to gain track position.

Roger Penske was overseas when the alleged manipulation happened and addressed the matter a week later. He denied any wrongdoing by his staff and cited people "role-playing" the situations according to their inclination, which can almost breach rules.

"I don't know all the details. I didn't see all the facts. We obviously didn't do anything, quite honestly. At the end of the day, what I heard that the crew chief on whatever car it was made all this big noise … we didn't have any deal at all," Penske said via USA Today.

"But that's how people role-play stuff here in NASCAR. I think it worked out for everybody and we're moving on," he added.

Roger Penske seemingly took a jibe at how NASCAR handled the situation, refraining himself from any further comments. It's worth mentioning that, as both racers were backed by Ford, the Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM) potential role in the fiasco became more prominent.

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What NASCAR said about the issue involving Roger Penske and Co.

NASCAR released a statement after the race about investigating the possible collusion between Roger Penske's team and Bob Jenkins' organization. The officials expressed being aware of the radio communications, however, they lacked "full context" then and, as a result, deemed Logano's Chase spot legitimate.

“NASCAR is aware of reports about the 22 [Logano] and 38 [Gilliland] radio communications at Richmond International Raceway and is looking into it, but has yet to see anything in full context that requires any action,” it said via Racer.

The playoffs were scheduled to begin the following week at the Chicagoland Speedway, and Logano got his first shot at a Cup Series title. However, two days before the title fight began, NASCAR penalized Team Penske and FRM for actions detrimental to stock car racing. Nonetheless, Logano's spot in the Chase remained undisturbed.

But Martin Truex Jr. wasn't as lucky as Penske's Logano. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver was also reportedly reprimanded for race manipulation. The #56 Toyota driver finished seventh in the 400-lap event but his crew was found guilty of calling unnecessary pitstops. Thus, Truex Jr. lost his Chase spot to Ryan Newman.