What forced NASCAR to slap Joey Logano and Ryan Preece with penalties in Talladega

In a major turn of events at Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Preece have been disqualified from the race. The governing body has slammed the duo with penalties after failing the post-race inspection.

Despite being the defending champion, Logano has been having a hard time this season. Earlier in the race, he lost the chance to secure a stage win, and now he has been stripped of his top-five finish. Similarly, Preece was also awarded a spot at the end of the standings.

The governing body penalized Joey Logano for missing a spoiler bolt, resulting in a violation of the rules 14.5.8.E and 14.1.P. Meanwhile, Ryan Preece had three shims instead of two and failed rule 14.5.8.F. Team Penske accepted the situation and announced that they would not appeal it. The team stated (via NBC Sports):

“The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang was disqualified following post-race inspection at Talladega today. One of the 18 bolts on the surface of the spoiler that connect to the base was found to be loose, and NASCAR penalized the team as a result. This was not intentional and happened throughout the course of the race event. Team Penske accepts the disqualification.”

Joey Logano originally finished the 188-lap race in P5, and after the inspection, he was credited with the last spot (P39). On the other hand, Preece initially crossed the finish line in P2 behind the race winner, Austin Cindric, and ultimately, NASCAR awarded him P38. Meanwhile, Logano's teammate, Cindric's car, passed the post-race inspection without any issues, retaining his win.

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"Way to go, Austin": Joey Logano lambasts his teammate Austin Cindric for killing his chance to secure a stage win

During the Jack Link's 500 held on April 27, 2025, Joey Logano and his teammate Austin Cindric had a bit of a heated moment while wrapping up stage two of the race. The incident occurred while the duo was vying for the stage two win, and Logano lost it to 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace.

While wrapping up the final lap of stage two, the #2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver slowed down and allowed Wallace to pass. This hampered the #22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver's chance to secure the stage two win. Following his teammate's actions, the Middletown, Connecticut, native lost his cool and blasted at his teammate on the radio.

NASCAR analyst Kelly Crandall shared Joey Logano's message in an X post:

"Way to go, Austin. Way to go you dumb f**k. Way to f******g go. What a stupid s**t. GOD. He just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota the stage win. Nice job. Way to go. What a dumba**. ... Put that in his freaking notes and text it to us."

Both the Team Penske driver and the Roush Fenway Racing driver were awarded one point after failing the post-race inspection at the Talladega Superspeedway.