The modified glove broke safety regulations, resulting in a $10,000 fine.
Last weekend, NASCAR driver Joey Logano was hit with a $10,000 fine for using a webbed glove on his left hand during the Cup race in Atlanta. The webbed glove broke the rules about wearing non-S.F.I.-approved safety gear during a race but it also gave Logano a small aerodynamic advantage. Now, NASCAR is showing the glove to the world.
In an X post, NASCAR showed off Logano’s modified glove up close and it’s webbed in between every finger. Aside from wanting to look like the Creature From the Black Lagoon, why would Logano and his team modify his normal S.F.I.-approved glove with finger webbing, and what sort of advantage could that have provided?
NASCAR Cup cars all have open driver-side windows, with just a safety window net. Since that open window can cause aerodynamic drag at high speed, drivers will use their left hand to block some of the netting or even the gap between the net and the A-pillar, to prevent some air from coming in. It doesn’t do much but if that tiny decrease in drag can gain them a single mile-per-hour, it’s worth it trying. So a webbed glove creates a larger surface area, blocking more air than a standard glove.
Drivers are allowed to block the window with their hands, as it’s something every driver does. However, using a wider, webbed glove that isn’t safety-approved is what got Logano in trouble with the rule makers, resulting in the $10,000 fine. Is that a ticky-tack fine? Probably, and countless NASCAR fans took to X to voice their displeasure with it. But using non-safety-approved gear gets you fined in just about every sport. NFL players are regularly fined for wearing cleats with custom colors and designs, for example.
Ironically, Logano qualified on pole for today’s Pennzoil 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, using S.F.I.-compliant gloves. So maybe he never needed Spidey hands after all.
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