Denny Hamlin Reveals Joey Logano Discussion And Clears Rival of Martinsville Blame

Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin revealed that Joey Logano claimed he never saw Hamlin on the inside before forcing a three-wide move that triggered a Lap 215 spin.

The mid-race collision altered the afternoon for two Joe Gibbs Racing contenders at Martinsville Speedway.

Yet, rather than prolonging a public feud with his long-time rival, Hamlin chose to clear Logano of malicious intent.

The incident took place while Hamlin and teammate Christopher Bell were battling for position.

Logano made an aggressive move from behind that quickly turned into full contact.

The Team Penske driver tried to push into a three-wide situation on the track.

That move sent both Hamlin and Bell into a costly spin.

THE CONVERSATION AFTER MARTINSVILLE

Speaking alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast, Hamlin walked through their private post-race exchange.

Hamlin initially questioned why Logano felt compelled to make such a high-risk maneuver at that specific moment.

Both drivers had recently taken the wave-around following a self-spin by Carson Hocevar.

Because of that circumstance, Hamlin pointed out that they were running at the tail end of the field.

"I said, ‘Hey, did you really feel like you had to jam it in there three-wide? There was actually nobody behind us; we were the last cars on the racetrack because we had to take the wave-around from the Hocevar self-spin,'" Hamlin recalled asking him.

Logano offered an explanation that immediately shifted Hamlin’s view of the crash.

"He said, ‘I’ll be honest with you. I thought the 20 was just blocking me down the straightaway. I didn’t know he was on the inside of you,'" Hamlin added.

The No. 20 car was driven by Bell, who was positioned beside Hamlin on the track.

According to Logano's account, Bell's positioning made it seem like an outright defensive block.

Logano had believed he was simply contesting space with Bell alone down the straightaway.

THE IN-CAR CAMERA EVIDENCE

Hamlin took the time to review the video footage before deciding whether to accept Logano's reasoning.

He specifically checked the view from Logano's onboard camera.

"If you look at his in-car camera, you can’t see me," Hamlin said.

That angle showed that Hamlin was completely hidden from the Penske driver's direct field of view.

With Hamlin obscured by Bell's car, Logano likely thought he had open real estate.

"And I looked at it, and I’m like, I can see where that’d be a possibility. And so I just said, ‘Gotcha, I understand. I understand.’ I take him at face value on that," Hamlin further explained.

Hamlin concluded that Logano did not intentionally wreck him or intentionally create a wrecking situation.

Instead, Hamlin recognized that Logano simply got a run and misread Bell's trajectory as a block.

By taking him at face value, Hamlin avoided escalating another rivalry dispute.

CRITICISM FROM THE KING

While Hamlin cleared Logano of blame, his performance at Martinsville drew sharp criticism elsewhere.

NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty offered a harsh review of Hamlin’s afternoon.

Petty shared his assessment during the Petty Racing Recap broadcast alongside Dale Inman.

Hamlin had entered the weekend on a high note by winning the pole position.

Petty believed that Martinsville presented Hamlin with the ultimate stage to cut into Kyle Larson’s championship points lead.

"I figured if Denny was ever going to show anything, it was going to be at Martinsville," Petty said.

Starting from the pole position raised Petty's expectations significantly.

"When he started on pole, I said, ‘Okay, they’ve got their stuff together, and the 5 car is going to be hard-pressed to gain any points on it,'" Petty added.

Instead, Hamlin managed only a sixth-place finish.

Petty summed up his final verdict in a single blunt phrase.

"That was really disappointing," Petty said.

STRATEGY CALLS THAT BACKFIRED

Hamlin’s troubles at Martinsville began long before his collision with Logano.

A pivotal strategic error took place during the opening stage of the race.

While most of the field opted to pit for fresh tires under green-flag conditions, Hamlin and Larson chose to stay out.

Neither driver caught the caution flag they needed before the stage came to an end.

As a consequence, both Hamlin and Larson surrendered track position and finished Stage 1 without collecting any stage points.

Larson suffered even more severely, dropping a full lap behind during the opening segment.

That opening miscue by Larson should have handed Hamlin a massive opportunity to erase his points deficit.

However, Hamlin’s car lacked the pace needed to capitalize on the advantage.

Former Cup Series crew chief Steve Letarte analyzed the miscue on NASCAR’s Inside the Race.

Letarte contrasted Hamlin’s gamble with race winner William Byron, who pitted and took total control.

"The most successful, the pitting group, William Byron pitted, drove up, won the first stage, never looked back, controlled the race, the rest," Letarte said.