Joey Logano may not have won the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race but his post-race reaction and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s response to it got almost just as much attention.
After race-winer Christopher Bell passed Logano late in the race (with clean move) and moved him up the track, the Team Penske driver sounded off in his post-race interview. He complained and called the pass aggressive and said he wasn’t happy.
“I’m pissed off” said Joey Logano. “He got under me and released the brake and gave me no option. Kind of just ran me up into the wall, and if I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that.”
Bell, not one to be involved in post-race controversy, didn’t seem bothered.
“Joey was frustrated? That’s interesting,” Bell said. “I don’t think I did anything Joey hasn’t done. I’ve seen him do much worse.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Calls Out Logano’s Snap Reaction After the Race
It was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who really went there once he weighed in. On The Dale Jr. Download, he said his issue wasn’t with the racing , it was with how Logano reacted the second he got out of the car.
“Joey got out of the car after the All-Star Race and said he was annoyed with how Bell raced him,” he said. “Apparently, he’s now walked that stuff back. He’s like, ‘Yep, I was a little heated at the moment.’”
Indeed, Joey Logano did backtrack 24 hours later, admitting he got too emotional in the moment.
“When I went back and re-watched it, I was like, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was,” he told reporters.
“I’m a really bad loser. I’m a sore loser. I can’t help it. It is who I am, but I think that’s also what makes us winners.”
Dale Jr. Earnhardt respected the honesty but didn’t let the initial outburst slide.
“I still have a problem with Joey having that instant reaction, even though he walks it back a day later,” Dale Jr. said. “I appreciate that he went and watched it… and goes, ‘All right, it wasn’t that bad.’ But for him to have the instant reaction he had still is an irk.”
For Dale Jr., the standard is different when it comes to a guy like Logano, a 3-time Cup Champion. He’s supposed to take a deep breath, get the whole picture and then speak, especially when it’s going to be on camera.
In Junior’s mind, the sport doesn’t excuse snap reactions from guys who’ve been in the spotlight long enough to know better.
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