Joey Logano’s last-lap bump-and-run of Martin Truex Jr. at Martinsville Speedway was the type of beating-and-banging move found in NASCAR’s DNA. That was the opinion of NASCAR Vice President of Officiating and Technical Inspection Elton Sawyer, who addressed the move Monday morning in an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“Fans saw exactly what NASCAR racing was about,” Sawyer said on The Morning Drive. “It is a contact sport. I think Joey (Logano) said it best when the race was over, it’s about Miami. And we didn’t see anything from the tower (that) would indicate either driver did anything that we would consider crossing the line.”
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Logano moved Truex out of the way in Turns 3 and 4 of the final lap of Sunday’s First Data 500 to claim the victory and the automatic berth to the Championship 4 on Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Truex vowed after the race that Logano might have won that battle, but he wouldn’t win the war.
The NASCAR Playoffs continue Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) before the Round of 8 wraps up at ISM Raceway in Phoenix on Nov. 11.
Truex currently stands 25 points above the cutline in third place behind Logano and Kyle Busch. Kevin Harvick is tied with Truex in points, but Truex’s third-place finish at Martinsville is the best result between the two drivers in this round giving Truex the tiebreaker.