The NASCAR race at Bristol was a wild and aggressive one that saw Kasey Kahne take the checkered flag, but there were some sparks along the way, as Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin got into it on the track, which spilled over into the pits.
According to ESPN.com, Logano grew frustrated about how Hamlin, who was his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, spun him out while there were 150 laps remaining in the 500 lap race. Afterwards, when the cars were in the crew area, Logano went over to Hamlin's car and leaned into the window, which prompted a shoving match between the crews for both drivers.
Logano was soon taken back to his area and was frustrated about the entire situation later on.
"It's frustrating," Logano said to USA Today. "We've got a freaking genius behind the wheel of the 11 car. Probably the worst teammate I've ever had. So I learn that now. He chose to run into the back of me. So whatever. I have a scorecard. I ain't putting up with that."
Hamlin was heard apologizing on the radio for hitting into Logano, who at the time was near the front-end of the race. Although he said that the move with Logano had nothing to do with the back and forth the two had after the Daytona 500, Logano thought otherwise. After the opening race at Daytona, the two went back and forth at each other on Twitter, with Hamlin criticizing the driving of his former teammate Logano on the track.
"@keselowski sorry I couldn't get close to you cuz your genius teammate was too busy messing up the inside line 1 move at a time," Hamlin wrote on Twitter."
Later on after he wrote that, Hamlin got a response from Toyota driver Clint Bowyer, who wrote: "2nd that".
Hamlin's frustrations were about Logano moving back and forth on the track while other drivers were sticking to the inside line. The two were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008 to 2012 before joining up with Penske Racing for the current Sprint Cup season. Hamlin finished in 14th place in the race, while Logano finished 19th behind winner Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin said afterwards that the move wasn't connected to the Twitter exchange.
"No, it didn't have anything to do with that," Hamlin said. "You've really got to control your car, and he slipped up into me. Really, he would have been in the garage with no radiator in it if I had not checked up twice."
Following the incident, NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said there wouldn't be a penalty for the drivers of the crew in the shoving match. Later on, Hamlin was asked about what Logano said at the window, saying that: "He said he was coming for me. I usually don't see him, so it's usually not a factor."
Logano was likely heated since he felt he had a good chance to win, but he made progress on the day, as he moved up three spots in the standings to 12th, while Hamlin is now in sixth place. Logano couldn't help himself after the race, writing on Twitter: "Hey @dennyhamlin great job protecting that genius brain of yours by keeping your helmet on."
Hamlin then wrote: "Why's that ... What would u do?''
Kyle Busch finished second in the race to Kahne, while Logano finished past the top 12 once again in his fourth start of the season. The race on Sunday had 10 caution flags and knocked out 66 of the 500 laps on the day. Defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski finished in third after winning the race last year, while Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top six. Ryan Newman came in seventh, Brian Vickers was eighth and Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray finished up the top 10.
