The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega has seen more controversies than it has seen crashes. One of them has been the radio wire from Joey Logano calling his teammate a “dumb f—“. The matter seemed like an angry rant, more than a casual banter. And that has attracted a lot of hate from fans, as well as celebrities. However, one of the onlookers was the Atlanta Braves veteran, Chipper Jones. And let’s just say, it did not go down that well for him. So, he took to his X account to give the Team Penske drivers a piece of his mind.

On April 28, 2025, Chipper Jones released an X post showing support for Austin Cindric, who, according to him, “did everything possible to keep from wrecking” his teammate, Joey Logano. He then pointed out how some people are “‘hooray for our team as long as I’m the star’ as every team has them.” And after all these subtleties, he took the clearest dig, penning, “Sometimes karma is glorious. Enjoy this one! In case anyone is confused, lemme be clear…. @joeylogano.” And everyone took notice: fans, team, and drivers as well. Things have gone so far that Dale Jr. commented on the post saying, “Holy s— Chipper,” with a laughing emoji. With the anticipation of a direct answer building up, Joey Logano came clean on his thoughts about the matter. But the real answer came from a NASCAR insider who has covered the sport for a very long time. But what did Logano say?

A NASCAR masterclass for the MLB legend

Feeling flabbergasted and clueless by Jones’ comments, Joey Logano said, “I am surprised that a professional athlete would act in that manner because he is been through it. Like, I say it all the time. I am very careful to form an opinion on an athlete by their emotions or the way they play the game. Because I know from bring in that position when there’s that much line in a competitive environment, you act a certain way. Because you are out there to win, right?” But that’s not all. Taking a small dig of his own, the Penske driver said, “It’s surprising to me. I think he is just trying to be relevant still or something like that. I don’t really know exactly why.” All NASCAR fans know Sliced Bread. If he takes from you, you’ll surely get from him. But another insider thought that it would be better to teach the MLB star a few things about NASCAR.

Shannon Spake, the ex-ESPN NASCAR analyst, came to Logano’s aid on NASCAR Daily. She understands that Chipper Jones might be misinformed about the team dynamics. Addressing the issue, she said, “Are there teammates in NASCAR? Yes! The word ‘teammate’, which is one that Chipper Jones used here in this tweet…. yes, they are teammates, are on the same team. I will always go back to something that Jeff Burton said when I asked him this question back in 2008-2009, and he said, ‘It’s not necessarily teammates. We are more like business partners.’ And I will always remember he said that because I think that totally explains what the NASCAR dynamic is inside those teams.” This is a fair point to make, considering that many other sportsmen who are fans of the sport could misunderstand it like Jones. Spake then went on to justify Logano’s action, as this is nothing new in our sport!

Shannon said, “If you are a business partner with someone and they don’t live up to their part of the business deal, as Joey Logano thought Austin Cindric did in that moment, I think you have every right to get upset. Now, he gets upset on the radio, and we hear it because we have access to it, which is something that we don’t have in other sports, right?” And then, she took a small dig of justice at the 1999 National League MVP, saying, “Chipper Jones, we don’t know what he is saying to his teammates out there on the mound in the game. Um, we don’t know what any other athletes are saying, and we can hear that in NASCAR, which is a huge luxury.” This is nothing to be offended about. It is just plain truth. Can you imagine how a catcher dropping the ball would be frowned upon? That does not sound broadcastable. But then Spake pointed out Austin’s statement on the matter.

On Monday, running of the NASCAR Daily, Austin Cindric addressed the issue as a guest, and Spake repeated it. “Austin told me, he’s like, ‘I don’t put much stock into those words because we’ve done so many great things for each other and with each other as teammates. And, it was emotion.'” That’s Cindric unfiltered. And, to emphasize the point, the analyst said, “We don’t know how Austin Cindric and Joey Logano operate behind closed doors. We don’t know how deep their friendship is. We don’t know how they talk to each other, work things out, (or) handle things. And this could make them stronger.” Then she addressed the elephant in the room.

Taking Joey Logano‘s side completely, she said, “At the end of the day, they are trying to win. They are trying to win the race, they are trying to win stages. And that did not happen in the race. And Joey Logano reacted the way he did.” This looks like the concluding statement, but we hope Chipper Jones got the message clearly. But, now there are bigger things to be concerned about, an approaching Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. But how does it look for the Penske duo?

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All odds are against Austin Cindric

While Austin Cindric looks at two-in-a-row, fans seem to differ from their recent race winner. Diving into the odds by DraftKings Sportsbook, Cindric does not even make it to the top 10. And you know what’s even more insane? The fact that it shows Ty Gibbs way on top of the number 2 driver! While Cindric is at +8000, our little antagonist Gibbs is at +2500. But what about the number 22 driver?

Well, Joey Logano is at least anticipated in the top-10, and is currently placed at the 7th position at +1400. Glad to see that, after controversial statements about his teammate, Logano’s talent still makes him a favorite pick for fans. But, can you guess the fan favorite? If you say it’s Kyle Busch, you will be disheartened. Even after being the 2nd most winningest driver at the Texas Motor Speedway after Jimmie Johnson, the NASCAR fraternity expects some ‘generational talents’ to sweep the stage. And the 4th place is a tie between the two most promising drivers of the season, who barely missed their 3 in a row.

The tie is between Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin at +800 for the 4th pick. The third pick is Tyler Reddick, this year’s Dayton 500 2nd place winner. He has had an impressive season so far and has a +750 supporting him. The second pick is Daytona winner William Byron with +600. And the first pick is generational talent, Kyle Larson at 500+. While all these points are based on the audience picking their favorite racers, it is far from reality. As we all know, one thing is constant in NASCAR, the element of SURPRISE!

So, who is your pick for the Würth 400? Do let us know in the comments below.