Joey Logano came to North Wilkesboro Speedway as the defending champion during the NASCAR All-Star Race. Behind the wheel of Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford, he led a jaw-dropping 139 of 250 laps, won the pole, and owned the heat races. With a $1 million prize in sight, Logano looked unbeatable. But a baffling decision to stay on worn tires, a questionable late-race caution, and a bruising pass by Christopher Bell turned his fortune into a bitter second-place finish! Fans, experts, and Logano himself were equally baffled. But there was one question: How did it all go so wrong?

The North Wilkesboro track’s rough surface made tires the star of the show. Logano’s heat race dominance showed how new tires let him cut through rivals like a hot knife through butter. Kyle Larson’s two-tire stop in his heat, per NASCAR.com, showed even partial tire changes could work magic. In the main event, four fresh tires were the key to success, as Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch proved by charging up the field after late pits. But insiders think Joey Logano finished second, not by the caution, but because he did not learn from experiences.

What held back Joey Logano?

In Lap 216, everything changed. A promoter’s caution—a new All-Star Race twist—waved, erasing Logano’s 0.580-second lead. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made a fateful call: Keep Logano out on 30-lap-old tires. Four other teams followed suit, while C. Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took two fresh tires and lined up sixth. The new rubber gave him “a huge speed boost.” Logano’s tires, though, were fading fast. The baby-faced assassin carved through the field, caught Logano, and with nine laps left, bumped him up the track to steal the lead. Logano slid, helpless, as Bell claimed the $1 million.

NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi were floored on The Teardown podcast. “We saw when Larson took two tires, we saw the difference that made, right?” Gluck said. “Tires made a difference there. So why, like, 41 lap older tires? I don’t understand what the call was.” Bianchi chimed in: “I don’t either. This was a race where tires mattered… If you pit, maybe some stay out, and you’re stuck back there. But I’d have pitted. Like Kevin Harvick says, I want to attack. Give me four fresh tires, and I’m going hard. Joey Logano with fresh tires would’ve been dangerous.”

Joey Logano was blunt about the tire call. “Obviously not [the right choice]. Duh. We got beat by that,” he told, managing a laugh. He explained it was a last-minute switch from taking two tires to staying out, thinking six cars ahead of Bell would be enough buffer. “I thought it’s a similar situation to what Brad [Keselowski] had in the heat race… But what are people willing to do in a heat race versus a million dollars? It changes the game.” Wolfe shared the pain: “It sucks because we had the best car, and somewhere along the way we made a bad decision,” he said. But his last statement spoke volumes: “Bell got through them too quick… Joey drove his butt off, did all he could.” And, it feels like this is where the team lost its edge in the race.

Remember the 2024 Cup Series Race at Iowa? Joey Logano’s sixth-place run at Iowa Speedway had him in high spirits after the race. And that day, he pointed out something crucial about tire management.  Logano qualified for the first stage flying and dipped low in the second stage. However, he bounced back. Why? Well, in his own words, “(We) lost the second stage points but got it back. We kind of worked our way back up there. The call with the two tires we got ourselves in a position to possibly win the race.” When he was interviewed by NBC Sports later, he focused on the tire situation in the sport.

“We’ve got to do something to make the tires fall off. I get it. Listen, here’s the deal, Goodyear has built a tire that is too good. If you’re looking to buy a tire on the street. That’s the tire you want. You want the tire that is going to last forever. … But that’s not what we want as racers,” Joey Logano said. And now that the tires are falling off more, his team does not seem to acknowledge it well enough. But, this NWS race surely has flaring aggression!

The caution and Bell’s aggressive pass added salt to the wound. Logano hinted at payback: “He did it good enough that I couldn’t get back to him, because I was going to show him what fair was,” he said. Bell shrugged it off, telling, “I don’t think I did anything that Joey has not done… I’ve seen Joey do much worse.” Logano called the caution a “gimmick” that stole his lead.

The loss stung, not just for the money but for Team Penske’s momentum, heading to Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600. Will they bounce back, or will this haunt them? One thing was the constant for all that North Wilkesboro left a mark.

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Team Penske is easing Josh Berry’s journey

Team Penske is dominating NASCAR right now, and their alliance with Josh Berry and Wood Brothers Racing is a huge part of it! This powerhouse team, led by the legendary Roger Penske, is like the backbone of Berry’s incredible rise in the Cup Series. Berry himself can’t stop raving about it, saying, “Being competitive is the biggest thing. And it’s the hardest thing to figure out to be fast and lead these races and get yourself in contention, and we’ve done that a lot.” It’s not just about fast cars; it’s the brainpower, the strategy, and the support that make Penske a game-changer.

Imagine having that kind of muscle behind you—Penske’s know-how turned Berry’s tough days into moments of growth. His sixth-place finish at Darlington last year? That was Penske’s resources shining through, helping Berry prove he’s no one-hit wonder. He’s fired up, saying, “We were able to stay aggressive, stay on the offense, stay up front. I feel that I am in a situation now where I can succeed.” and Penske’s got his back to keep pushing.

Kevin Harvick, a NASCAR icon, put it perfectly: “It really has [been impressive]. I’m happy for all of them [at Wood Brothers], I think when you see the speed Josh had — he was leading the race last week before the spin at Texas — and now this week, had a penalty on pit road that put them to the back of the pack and drove all the way to the front.”

This partnership isn’t just boosting Berry—it’s strengthening Penske’s dominance too, making them a force to be reckoned with in every race.