The NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was full of controversy. In the final laps, Chevrolet formed a wall behind William Byron, keeping him in the Championship 4. However, Toyota was forced to respond to help Christopher Bell, who would’ve made it to Phoenix Raceway without race manipulation. Now, it appears that NASCAR has made a big effort to prevent this from happening again.
According to 2024 Cup Series champion Joey Logano on Kevin Harvick’s podcast, NASCAR threatened to park drivers for the 2025 Daytona 500 if there was race manipulation in the Championship 4 event at Phoenix.
“[NASCAR] did threaten us before the race [at Phoenix Raceway] that if anyone manipulates the race somehow, you’re not racing in the Daytona 500 next year,” Logano said.
This is a big statement from NASCAR and could explain why there were no shenanigans on Sunday evening in Phoenix. The finish at Martinsville was embarrassing for the sport, and it needed to do whatever was required to prevent it from happening again. If this is the norm for NASCAR moving forward, race manipulation will hopefully be a thing of the past.
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