Page 42 of 230

Three-time Sprint Cup champ Tony Stewart tees off on Joey Logano in this interview. Many race fans applauded this, while some writers tried to put things in perspective, asking Stewart to cut Logano some slack since Logano is only 22 years old. It doesn’t sound like Stewart will heed the advice since he basically called out Logano as acting like a little girl for throwing water at him.

It will be fascinating to see how this plays out in future races. NASCAR is notorious for these kinds of spats, but as things escalate they can get out of control. And of course the consequences here are severe, as we saw when Denny Hamlin wrecked on the last lap at California last weekend, suffering a fractured lower back after hitting the inside wall head-on. The hope of course is that these off track altercations serve to let these guys blow off steam so that the fight doesn’t return to the track, but of course we all know better.

It doesn’t help Logano’s case of course that Hamlin isn’t buying his BS. They’ve had some recent interaction that Hamlin described as not being very productive. Roger Penske is trying to protect his driver Logano and is also trying to diffuse the situation, even implying that the media is overreacting to every incident, but it’s hard to get away from the issues caused by his young driver.

If you’re into sports betting when it comes to auto racing and NASCAR, this is just another factor to consider. Cars and ability matter, but emotions and feuds are a real part of this as well. Of course it’s very hard to quantify these wild cards, but it’s also good to be aware of them as well. Will Logano back off, and will this affect his performance? That’s a huge question. As for Stewart, he’s the ultimate pro, but sometimes a young punk like Logano can throw you off your game.