Joey Logano and Christopher Bell argue after fierce battle for NASCAR All-Star win

Joey Logano and Christopher Bell hit out at each other after engaging in a fierce battle for victory in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Team Penske driver Logano was leading the only non-championship round on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar when the race promoter threw his discretionary caution on lap 216 of 250.

As part of a new rule introduced for the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race, Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith was allowed to show the caution flag at his own discretion - via Michael Waltrip - at any point between lap 100 and 250.

While the majority of the field pitted under caution, Logano elected to stay out on track, leaving him vulnerable on old rubber in the closing stages of the race.

At the restart, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bell began hunting down Logano, with the pair trading making contact several times as they squabbled for the lead.

Bell eventually found a way past on lap 241 before streaking clear to take the chequered flag with a winning margin of eight tenths.

However, having led a race-high 139 laps in the #22 Penske Ford, reigning champion Logano was unimpressed with both the caution rule - which he described as a gimmick - and Bell’s driving.

“I’m pissed off right now,” he said. “Just dang it, we had the fastest car. The Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was so fast. I’m trying to choose my words correctly on the caution situation. Obviously, I got bit by it, so I am the one frustrated, obviously …

“I’m all about no gimmicks with the caution. I am all about that. Me and Marcus Smith aren’t seeing eye to eye right now, OK? I’ve got to have a word with him.

He added: “I thought maybe we could hold him [Bell] off, but the 20 had a good enough restart, cleared too many of them too fast.

“I couldn’t get away in time. It took me six, seven laps to get my car up and rolling again.

“I did all I could do to hold him off, and he got under me and released the brake and gave me no option. Kind of just ran me up into the wall, and if I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that. I just couldn’t get back to him. Just too much to try to make up with the tyre deficit.

“Just frustrated after you lead so many laps and the car is so fast and you don’t win, it hurts quite a bit.”

Bell rejoined the track in sixth place in the #20 Toyota after pitting under caution, but made rapid strides to get on the tail of Logano’s Ford with 23 laps to run.
The pair continued to fight for the next portion of the race, with Bell only completing the move with nine laps to run.

The result netted him $1 million as part of a special cash reward for the race.

When Logano’s words about his driving were put to him, Bell said: “He was frustrated? That is interesting. I genuinely would not have guessed that.”

Bell also hit back at Logano’s allegations, saying he has seen him “do much worse” on track.

“I had got to him a couple times before and he made it very difficult on me, as he should. I got my run, and I took the moment, as I should,” he explained.

“I don’t think that I did anything that Joey has not done, and I’ve seen Joey do much worse. We will continue on.”

He added: “So whenever I got into second place, I really closed the gap on him quickly, and I thought it was going to be a pretty easy pass.

“Then whenever I got to him, he changed his line around to take my air away and take my line away, and it worked. I got really loose on the outside of him in 3 and 4. He got away. He changed his lineup to block my line, and it hurt my pace for a while.

“I thought I would be able to get back to him, and I kind of had to regroup for a minute, and then whenever I did get back to him he was just doing a great job of defensive driving.

“Throughout the garage Joey and his spotter are probably the most respected group or the best group in the garage at defensive driving and aero blocking and stuff like that.

“He did everything that he could do to keep me behind him with my tyre advantage. I was a little bit faster than him and able to generate the run.

“I knew once I got position on him, I had to take it at that moment to win the race, and that’s what I did.”