Joey Logano had almost everything going for him at the Daytona road course. He was leading the race for a while but was aware that Christopher Bell was coming for him. In the end, he could not hold on as his brakes failed on him and allowed the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to slip past.

Speaking after the race, he said, “Too many laps. I was hoping that the pace car would slow down and would try and clean up the mess at Turn 3. Honestly, it is what it comes down to, one lap will make the difference. You hate being that close, but at the same time, you look where we’ve come from. We had a really solid race, two solid stages, it’s just that getting passed coming to the white flag stings a lot.”

Joey Logano rues what could have been

Obviously, he is happy that Bell managed to grab a maiden Cup Series win. A first win is always special for a driver, especially if it was a hugely impressive one. However, it does not take away the fact that he could have very easily been the race-winner. That explains why the loss stings him just that little bit harder.

In spite of everything, Bell had a great car under him and the JGR cars have made significant gains. Of course, Joey Logano insisted that he and the Team Penske outfit have made gains as well. Admittedly, it is still not enough to challenge the Hendrick Motorsports team and the #9 car.

On the bright side, Logano revealed that he and the team have identified the root cause of their issues. From there, they can take the right steps to remedy those issues. Now, there is no use crying over the past, all that Logano can do is move on and look forward to the next race.

READ MORE: WATCH: How Christopher Bell Shocked Joey Logano in Final Laps for Ground-Breaking NASCAR Win