Bubba Wallace’s spotter and Larry McRyenolds are in sync about Joey Logano’s involvement in William Byron’s Coca-Cola 600 heartbreaker

Joey Logano didn’t do anything wrong in the final laps of the Coca-Cola 600, say Bubba Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft and veteran analyst Larry McReynolds. Both of them believe Logano was simply racing hard to stay on the lead lap, and that William Byron’s late-race loss to Ross Chastain wasn’t the Team Penske driver’s fault.

Byron led a race-high 283 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was in the position to win NASCAR’s longest race last Sunday until Chastain passed him with six laps to go. Byron had dominated the night, but Joey Logano’s defensive driving while being lapped allowed Chastain to close the gap and make the winning move in Turns 3 and 4.

After the race, Byron was frustrated and hinted that Logano’s actions may have cost him the win. However, Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, and Larry McReynolds pushed back on that idea during the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

Tommy Baldwin, the Competition Director of Rick Ware Racing, said that he felt it was the Hendrick Motorsports driver who took the wrong line on the final lap and hurt his own chances. To this, Kraft added:

"I thought Joey was giving him (Byron) the wall in (turns) one and two every lap, you know, and that's what you really want..." Kraft noted. "He was a little less predictable in three and four, he would move up sometimes and run that lane down, and I think I saw one comment where William was a little bit unhappy about that, but Larry, I don't see anything he did wrong." (36:00 onwards)

McReynolds strongly agreed. He criticized the idea that Logano should have made it easier for Byron just because he was being lapped.

"I have zero tolerance when I hear a driver talk about another driver racing them hard. Really? He raced you hard, that's a shame, he shouldn't do that, should he?" Larry added as a snide remark. Joey Logano did nothing wrong, he was trying to stay on the lead lap because you know what? If the caution comes out, then he's able to come in and get four fresh tires, and he maybe can really get a much better finish than he had."

Even though the finish was not ideal for Byron still had a decent race. He swept the first three stages and earned enough points to take over the Cup Series standings lead from teammate Kyle Larson.

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What did William Byron say about Joey Logano?

While Byron had a dominant run in the Coca-Cola 600, his race was far from easy. He battled Denny Hamlin through much of the race and had to work hard through lapped traffic late in the race. One of those lapped cars was Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford Mustang, and Byron wasn’t too happy with how Logano raced him.

Byron said Logano made things difficult in the final laps by changing his lines, especially in Turns 3 and 4.

“He was doing the usual,” Byron said of Joey Logano's defensive driving (via NASCAR.com). “What I didn’t like is; he just kept moving around in 3 and 4. I don’t know what he was doing. I think just was in traffic a lot that run.” (2:08nonwards)

He also pointed to the moment when 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick got loose off Turn 2 and hit the wall right in front of him. That incident cost Byron momentum and helped Chastain close the gap to the lead.

Despite the late-race frustration, Byron still walked away with the points lead in the Cup Series. He now holds a 29-point advantage over Larson, who eventually crashed out on Lap 247 after getting caught in a multi-car wreck.