How do you not play well with others? Can even Jimmie Johnson have a bad day? Here’s what we took away from NASCAR’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series landed in Richmond on Sunday for the Toyota Owners 400, but it was Ford that crashed the party at Richmond International Raceway.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano celebrated his 300th start by picking up the checkered flag and a guaranteed spot in the NASCAR playoffs, even as he had to outlast teammate Brad Keselowski and risk the wrath of Kyle Busch.
Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first race since announcing his retirement didn’t go well at all as he got bumped by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. At least Johnson didn’t have to join Ryan Blaney in Dale’s penalty box. And at least that gave us one of many things to talk about after Richmond.
Here’s what we took away from the Toyota Owners 400:
1) Holy crap, Joey Logano has 300 starts
Raise your hand if realizing that Logano was making his 300th start made you feel old. He still looks like he’s not old enough to drive. (He’s 26.) We can only imagine he’s got a painting of himself hanging in his attic that’s doing all the aging for him.
2) Some people do not play well with others
Congratulations to Logano for the victory, but the fake-out he pulled on Kyle Busch was another one of those moves that just makes you blink. Logano’s decision to duck for pit lane at the very last second caused Busch, who was running behind him at the time, to rack up a commitment line violation.
That violation, in turn, sent the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the back of the field and obliterated any chance Busch had to win the Toyota Owners 400. It was a sneaky move by Logano and understandably, Kyle Busch did not want to talk about it after the race. We don’t blame him.
3) It’s never good to hit your own teammate…
Even the sport’s most successful active driver has the ability to screw up. That’s what happened to Jimmie Johnson on Sunday, when he unintentionally put his own teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the wall and screwed up both their days. It just goes to show you that even when you have seven championships, oodles of race wins, and the fitness level of a 25-year-old, that doesn’t mean you are actually Superman. Come to think of it, Superman screwed up a few times, too.
4) …But it’s good to laugh about it afterward
While Johnson got flamed on Twitter afterward for hitting NASCAR’s favorite son, both he and Dale Jr. were able to more than take the accident in stride. Both of them were cracking jokes about it after the Toyota Owners 400. It’s tweets like these that are another reason we’ll miss Dale Jr. when he retires:
5) It’s a Penske kind of weekend
With Logano and Brad Keselowski finishing first and second in the Toyota Owners 400, and then Simon Pagenaud and Will Power finishing first and second in Saturday’s Desert Diamond West Valley Grand Prix for IndyCar, Team Penske claimed the top four spots in the weekend’s two biggest races. Not a bad weekend at the office for The Captain and his crew.
Next: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Richmond
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series now moves on to Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500 on May 7. To keep up with the latest news throughout NASCAR, follow the NASCAR category at FanSided here.