Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano was in for a series of disappointments at the Jack Link’s 500 in Talladega starting from the get-go. His frustrations flared high when a move by teammate Austin Cindric allowed Bubba Wallace to win Stage 2 instead of either one of them taking the W.
When the checkered flag fell, Logano finished fifth, but more disappointment awaited him. After a post-race inspection, the officials deemed his car illegal and disqualified him from the race.
Team Penske decided not to appeal against the DSQ, and Logano has finally come clean on why that was.
Joey Logano Reveals Why His Team Did Not Appeal Against Talladega DSQ
Having finished P5 in the Jack Link’s 500, Logano had to suffer a DSQ after a bolt had come loose on his No. 22 car’s rear spoiler. In a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the driver revealed the team’s insights behind the decision not to appeal against the DSQ.
Claiming that the defect in the rear wing wasn’t on purpose, Logano added the intention did not matter in such a scenario. He said that the loose bolt did give his car an advantage over the rest of the grid, but it wasn’t a significant one, and that didn’t make things any better.
“What happened is the bolts that hold the back spoiler on. There’s a bracket back there. One of the nuts came off. It wasn’t on purpose, but that doesn’t matter, right? Did it give us a competitive advantage? Yes. Did we do it on purpose? No. Does that make it any better? No. Right?”
MORE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Stunned as Austin Cindric Nearly Trolls Joey Logano With Ice-Cold Braves Hat Move
Logano continued with his statement as he said he was going to be hit with a penalty because it was the right thing to do and there was no arguing it. Therefore, the team decided not to appeal the decision.
🤷🏼 “It wasn’t on purpose, but that doesn’t matter.”@joeylogano addresses the disqualification of the No. 22 car on Sunday and why @Team_Penske opted to not file an appeal.
More #BehindTheWheel → https://t.co/keYsFmunJW pic.twitter.com/0RuHop2j7f
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) April 29, 2025
“You’re still going to get the penalty. And it’s the right thing. There’s no arguing it. Right? It’s like if you wreck someone and you go up and you say, You’re sorry. Does it change the result? No. But does it make it a little better? It’s like, yeah, I guess it’s a little better.”
Apart from Logano, Ryan Preece of Roush Fenway Racing was also disqualified from the Talladega race owing to a rear-wing violation. He had originally finished the race in P2, but the DSQ dropped him to P38 while Logany settled for P39.
With the DSQ, Logano added another unlucky result to a string of poor finishes in 2025. Aside from a top-ten finish in Martinsville, the defending champion hasn’t found form in any of the opening 10 races of 2025 and is currently sitting in P11 in the drivers’ standings.
A three-time champion in the Cup Series, Logano has earned a combined 68 race wins across NASCAR’s top three series. 36 of those wins have come in the Cup Series, and 34 of them have come while driving for Team Penske.