Joey Logano, a three-time Cup Series champion, unexpectedly became the center of controversy after Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, not for his performance on the track but for his heated outburst towards teammate Austin Cindric during the event’s second stage. The intensity of Logano’s criticism quickly spread, only to escalate further when Baseball Hall of Famer Chipper Jones publicly condemned Logano’s behavior on social media, sparking a wave of reactions within both the racing and sports communities.
Chipper Jones, known for his iconic baseball career, weighed in after the race, congratulating Cindric on his win but pointedly calling out Joey Logano for his choice of words and attitude, writing, “Congrats to @AustinCindric on his @TALLADEGA win. Good teammates are hard to come by, Boss! Remember that one of urs MFed u on national tv, when in all actuality, u did everything possible to keep from wrecking him… Some people are ‘hooray for our team as long as I’m the star’ as every team has them… In case anyone is confused, lemme be clear….@joeylogano.” His remarks, direct and far-reaching, placed Logano’s radio rant under a much wider spotlight, drawing in reactions from fans and fellow athletes alike.
The controversy continued to grow when Joey Logano addressed the criticism during his regular appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, during the “Behind the Wheel” segment. Co-host Pete Pistone brought up the now-viral Chipper Jones comments, asking Logano for his thoughts on receiving public scrutiny from such a high-profile figure in another sport. Logano, clearly surprised by the crossover, replied, “You’re catching me off guard here. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I did not see it.”
After hearing the details of Jones’s post, Joey Logano responded firmly, challenging the legitimacy of the baseball legend’s opinion on racing matters. Logano explained, “Has Chipper Jones ever driven a race car at Talladega? Would be my first question. Pretty certain he hasn’t. That’s like me saying something about baseball. I know nothing about baseball. That’s like me saying something that he did something in baseball that was wrong. Like it doesn’t matter. You know what I mean?”
Expanding on his view, Joey Logano elaborated that only those with direct involvement in the sport and firsthand understanding of racing at superspeedways should pass judgment on such incidents. “You care about what people say, like their opinion, if you really know them and they know you and they understand the scenario and the situation. Everyone’s gonna have their opinion on how they see things from the outside. No one else. Nobody. Chipper Jones. No race fans. Nobody is in the room when we come up with how we’re gonna race at superspeedways except the drivers, the team principals at Penske and the crew chiefs. That is it. That’s the only opinions that matter. The only ones.”
Joey Logano made it clear that outside opinions, even from prominent figures like Chipper Jones, hold no sway over the realities of competition at Talladega or how team strategies play out. “So everyone can go off and talk about whatever they want. They don’t know the situation. They don’t know everything that goes into it. So it doesn’t matter what they say and that’s probably why I never saw it or really care about it. Even after you tell me right now.”
This public exchange between Joey Logano and Chipper Jones raises questions about the boundaries of commentary across different sports and the responsibilities athletes have when engaging with criticism beyond their own arenas. For Logano, the episode appears to serve as both a personal learning moment and a statement on the challenges athletes face in an age of instant digital criticism. With no superspeedway races scheduled until August at Daytona, Logano’s focus now turns to Texas Motor Speedway, but the tension and debates stirred by this incident are likely to linger, encouraging reflection on the roles that experience, perspective, and public opinion play in elite sports.
