CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR on Monday suspended a member of Joey Logano‘s crew for one race after the tire specialist dragged Denny Hamlin to the ground in a chaotic scuffle between the rival drivers.
Dave Nichols Jr. horse-collared Hamlin and pulled him to the pavement after Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Hamlin and Logano had been discussing an on-track incident that suddenly flared into a confrontation.
Many Team Penske crew members shielded Logano from a charging Hamlin, and Nichols approached him from behind and knocked Hamlin down. Nichols, crew chief Todd Gordon and competition director Travis Geisler were all called before NASCAR after the fracas.
Team Penske just last week made several crew change swaps that in part reunited Logano with the entire over-the-wall team he had during last year’s championship run.
Logano finished eighth at Martinsville and is ranked fourth in the standings with two races remaining in this round of the playoffs. The field of eight will be cut to four for the title race, and three spots remain available following Martin Truex Jr.‘s win at Martinsville.