Joey Logano says 'We pushed a little bit too far' on illegal setup in Richmond win

NASCAR officials feel differently, however, which is why they deemed Logano and his team committed a "Level 1" violation in last Sunday's win at Richmond International Raceway.

The sanctioning body suspended crew chief Todd Gordon for two races, fined him $50,000 and penalized the team 25 driver and owner points after discovering the illegal setup in an inspection Tuesday.

Those penalties are too severe, Logano said, for a setup he says didn't help him go any faster in his win at Richmond.

"What happened is something that is very, very small," Logano told ESPN Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. "What we got in trouble for something that didn't really make our car any faster. It wasn't enough to make it much faster."

While NASCAR records will still list Logano as the winner, he cannot use the win as consideration for an automatic playoff spot. And if he makes the playoffs as expected, the five playoff points that come with a victory would not apply for Richmond.

"Personally, inside, I still look at it as a win," Logano said. "But obviously from the outside, we've lost all the benefits of the win. ... The penalty is pretty severe. It wasn't a big thing, but the rule is written black-and-white. We pushed a little bit too far and we'll pay that penalty and attack again."