NASCAR Driver Joey Logano's Cheaty Wind-Blocking Glove Wasn't A Safety Issue

Screenshot: Kenny Wallace on YouTube

NASCAR racer and 2022 Cup Series Champion Joey Logano was caught wearing a left hand driving glove deemed to be illegal during the Atlanta Motor Speedway qualifying session last month, which cost his Penske Ford team pole position. Despite having a fast car at the track, his penalty forced him to start from the back and serve an additional pit stop, pushing him a lap down. Logano later said the whole situation was embarrassing and admitted that it wasn’t his decision to attempt running afoul of the rules, though he copped to being a willing participant.

Racing Tech 5 | Nascar Garage 56

While there’s no rule in the book specifically banning these webbings, NASCAR deemed the glove to be in violation of safety rules because its modification could have damaged the glove’s ability to protect his hand in a fire. I don’t think even NASCAR is convinced of the reduced efficacy of the glove’s fire protection, but it needed to find a rule in the book to make this worthy of a penalty. Following the penalty from NASCAR, Logano finished the Atlanta race in 28th position, some eight laps down.

When questioned about the glove’s safety, Logano said he didn’t feel the glove put him in any additional danger. “I wouldn’t ever put myself in a situation where I feel unsafe. I have kids, I have a wife, I have a family that I care way more about than race cars. I didn’t feel concerned about what we did. Qualifying at a speedway is usually pretty simple.”

Joey Logano Explains Why He Wore Blatantly Illegal Gloves

The glove in question features cloth webbing between the fingers and was intended to be pressed against Logano’s window netting in order to block air from entering the car. Drivers already use their hands to block air on high-speed tracks to gain an aerodynamic advantage and increase the car’s top speed by even a fraction of a mile per hour.

It’s unclear just how much of an advantage the glove provided, however, as Logano qualified on pole for last weekend’s race in Las Vegas, without the aid of the cheaty glove. He finished ninth, though was only counted as having led two laps.

Surely at this point one of the teams, maybe even Penske, is working to get a webbed glove SFI certified so that this aerodynamic benefit can be made legal in the eyes of the NASCAR rulebook.