Joey Logano says he and teammate Brad Keselowski haven't talked about Daytona 500 wreck, but 'we will fix it'

"It’s probably best to cool you jets a little bit before the conversation happens," Joey Logano said about wrecking with Brad (...)

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

It’s been a little more than four days since the 2021 Daytona 500 ended just after midnight ET on Monday, and according to Joey Logano, he and his teammate, Brad Keselowski, have yet to talk about how the race ended.

On the 200th and final lap of the season-opening race, the two Team Penske drivers were in position to win, which would have been Keselowski’s first Daytona 500 checkered flag or Logano’s second. But after they tangled and sparked a huge last-lap wreck, Michael McDowell swooped in for an upset victory — the first of his career now in his 14th season.

For our first Feud of the Week of 2021, here’s a quick breakdown of what happened on that last lap, what both drivers have said since and where they’re at now.

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski literally ignite last-lap Daytona 500 wreck

It’s never a good thing when you and your teammate wreck, but it’s especially not ideal on the last lap of the biggest race of the year. And they took out their other teammate, Austin Cindric in the No. 33 Ford.

Logano was out front leading the pack, while Keselowski, McDowell, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott were immediately behind him on the backstretch of Daytona’s 2.5-mile track. Running out of time, Keselowski tried to make some moves to pass Logano, but the No. 22 Ford driver kept successfully blocking him – at first.

Going into Turn 3 for the last time, Keselowski got a push from McDowell in the No. 34 Ford, and it looked like the No. 2 Ford driver had enough momentum to pass Logano on the inside of the track and possibly take the checkered flag. But as Logano tried to block Keselowski, the two cars made contact and bounced back in opposite directions. FOX Sports’ Jamie McMurray — who finished eighth in the Daytona 500 — explains what happened in further detail:

After they set off a fiery, eight-car crash, NASCAR threw the caution flag, and because McDowell had the lead over Elliott at the time of the caution, he was officially declared the winner. All the drivers involved in the wreck were OK.

What Logano and Keselowski had to say immediately after the Daytona 500

There’s no question Keselowski was absolutely furious after the race, and he took some of that frustration out on his destroyed car and chucked his helmet at it.

After being cleared from the infield care center, Keselowski told FOX Sports:

“I had a big run down the backstretch, went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500, and it ended up really bad. I don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everybody else’s car, so frustrating. The Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position and right then we were in position.

“It’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package and had the run, made the move and it didn’t work out.”

While Logano said he was happy for McDowell — and he congratulated the first-time winner afterward, as well – he was obviously disappointed by the wreck too. When FOX Sports asked him what happened on the last lap, Logano said:

“Pandemonium, I guess. Chaos struck. kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him to keep the runs from being too big and … it ended up being a really big run coming at me. And it seemed like we all just collided in one spot. So a real bummer that none of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won, and I’m really happy for McDowell.”

Did Logano and Keselowski tweet about their last-lap Daytona 500 wreck?

They tweeted about their respective heartbreaks with Logano finishing 12th and Keselowski 13th. Regardless of how upset they were immediately afterward, it certainly seemed like they calmed down by the time they got on Twitter.

But the Team Penske drivers still haven’t talked this out

It doesn’t appear that Keselowski has publicly addressed the incident since his post-race tweets, but For The Win reached out for comment.

Logano had a press conference Friday and compared the situation to a marriage.

As teammates, Logano said the pair has no choice to work it out, even if they still haven’t talked about it yet. As to why the two haven’t talk yet, Logano said: “I think it’s probably best to cool you jets a little bit before the conversation happens.” He explained he doesn’t “think anyone did anything wrong,” and wrecks like this are part of racing.

He continued:

“When you have conflict or you have a difference of opinion, you have to talk about it. You can’t just roll it up under the rug. It’s just not gonna work. It’s not healthy. … We’re still teammates. We will have to figure this out. We may not have to agree on everything, but we at least have to find a way to move forward.”

What’s next for Logano and Keselowski?

While the Team Penske drivers haven’t talked things over yet, Logano was clear that they’ll have to do that before Sunday’s race on Daytona’s road course. And the idea of on-track revenge isn’t an option — an opinion Keselowski likely would agree with.

“The goal is to move on and not say, ‘You raced me hard, so I’m gonna race you hard,’ and now we’re beating the doors off of each other every week, and it grows and grows and grows. That’s the goal that you can’t have. You can’t seek revenge or just, ‘Well, you made my life hard, so I’m gonna make your life hard.’ That’s childish. We’re adults. We’re not doing that.”

The next NASCAR Cup Series race is Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on the Daytona road course (3 p.m. ET, FOX).

Update:

Keselowski didn’t specifically address the situation with Logano, but he tweeted about the wreck Friday afternoon: