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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Auto Club Incident

Auto Club Speedway 2013


By Richard Tix

One year ago today NASCAR left Bristol Motor Speedway with two drivers feuding. As many fans remember, those two drivers were Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. Tempers boil over at Bristol all the time, so some fans took it in stride and figured the two might be chippy, but its Bristol right? Wrong... 

What happened next in Fontana would change the whole course of the season. Heading into the final lap at Auto Club Joey Logano pushed into the corner as much as he could, trying to wheel his #22 into a win. He was trying to get around none other then Danny Hamlin.

Joey might have pushed too hard because he slid up the track touching Denny Hamlin getting him loose. Hamlin got loose and spun back down into Logano taking both out. The real story was that Hamlin turned down into the inside of the track and smacked the wall hard (where there was no safer barrier). 

Denny Hamlin ended up having to sit out about a month with a back injury and even when he came back he never seemed to be the same. Joey Logano ended up continuing his solid 2013 campaign all the way into his first Chase appearance.

This season we leave Bristol with no big flair ups or huge rival storylines. However, this year we enter Auto Club with JoLo and DH sitting 6th and 7th in points (only 3 points separates them). Both drivers are looking for that first win in 2014 to almost assure them a 2014 Chase birth.

So, if they both end up being front runners at the end of the race, will old habits spring up? Or will cooler heads prevail? In 2014 wins mean a whole lot more, so I can only imagine these too going at it head to head once again, hopefully this time ending in an entertaining finish without an injury. 

Look back that the Articles from NASCAR Behind the Wall in 2013:

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