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

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

As part of a new rule introduced 𝕴for 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 poﷺint between lap 100 and 250.

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

At the restart, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bell begaಌn 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 cl✤ear 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 w🍸ith 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 toℱ 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, clea🤡red too many of them too f🔴ast.

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

“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’ꦓve 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 frustrateꩲd 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 a✅s part of a special cash reward f🌄or 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 tha💃t.ꦡ”

Bell also hit back at Logano’s allegations, saying he has seen him “do mucജh 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 𓆏my run, and I took the moment, as I should,” he explained.

“I don’t think that I did anything that 𝄹Joey hasไ 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 cꦡlosed 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, a💟nd 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 dr♔iving and aero b𓃲locking 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 tak🌜e it at that momen🐻t to win the race, and that’s what I did.”