PDA

View Full Version : Logano Headed Home To Connecticut For First Ever Stafford Start



RGeeProductions
06-05-2007, 07:47 PM
Logano Headed Home To Connecticut For First Ever Stafford Start
Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver Has Never Raced at Track He Grew Up Near

If you look on young Joey Logano’s website, it lists Middletown, Connecticut at his hometown, even though the Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver now lives Mooresville, North Carolina. And Middletown is just about 45 miles to the Southwest of Stafford, Connecticut, home of legendary Stafford Motor Speedway.

But even though Logano was born and lived less than 50 miles from the track, the 17-year-old has never turned a lap in competitive action there. However, that will all change on Friday night, June 8, when Logano will take his #20 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet to Stafford for the fifth event of the 2007 NASCAR Busch East Series season, the Connecticut Classic 150.

“It will be the first time since 1999 or 2000 or so that I’ve raced up there competitively,” said Logano, who turned 17 just a couple of weeks ago. “I haven’t been up in Connecticut for about a year now. It will be fun to get to see some family and some friends again. It’s going to be a blast up there.

“I’ve probably watched five or six races at Stafford before. I never got to race there because you always had to be 16 to race there, so I really am looking forward to racing there. It looks like a really neat track to run at.”

Logano has taken the NASCAR Grand National Division by storm so far in 2007, winning two of the first four Busch East Series races of the season as a rookie. Logano has also picked up a win in the NASCAR West Series, when he won at Phoenix International Raceway in his first-ever NASCAR start. He currently leads both the NASCAR Busch East Rookie of the Year and National Championship point standings.

In the most recent Busch East Series event, Logano finished third after starting third at South Boston Speedway in Virginia .

“The race was OK. We didn’t bring home the hardware, even though we had a good car. I guess it’s a good thing when you can be disappointed in a third-place finish. It was a good points night for us. Sean (Caisse) had some trouble and we had a solid run. (Eventual race winner) Matt (Kobyluck) and Peyton (Sellers) were in a zone though. Then there was me and I was in my own little zone. Then there was everyone else. I was about a tenth off of those two guys all night and everyone else was about a tenth off of us. It was a solid run that I can’t complain about.”

Now, Logano will head back home, but will be somewhat of an outsider. Before the 2007 season, the NASCAR Busch East Series (formerly the NASCAR Busch North Series) ran a majority of its races in the Northeast at tracks like Stafford and Thompson International Speedway (in Thompson , CT ). So many of the drivers in the series have plenty of laps on the tracks, where Logano will be mostly a rookie.

“I think the other guys will be pretty strong there,” added Logano. “It’s a home track for a lot of those guys. We should be pretty good there though. I think we’ll come off the trailer pretty good. Most everywhere we go, we start off with the same thing.

“I really think it will be a tighter of a field and the racing will be even better. So many of those guys already know the setup and know exactly what to do and how the race will play out. But then again, at South Boston , we were 12th quick in practice, qualified third and raced well. So as the day goes on, I think our team is good enough to get a handle of the track and be competitive. This is a race I really want to win.”

For more information on Joey Logano, please contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 788-2134 and check out joeyloganoracing.com.