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RGeeProductions
07-02-2007, 04:31 PM
Logano Continues To Roll… Wins Fourth Race of 2007 Season
Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver Heads to NHIS for First Time; Wins Pole and Race

The 2007 season has been a whirlwind for 17-year-old Joey Logano. After years of waiting, Logano was finally able to race with NASCAR, starting with the Grand National Series. He went out and promptly won in his first start, coming with the West Series at Phoenix International Raceway in mid-April. And since then, things have not slowed for Logano, between winning races and being in the national limelight.

And on Friday afternoon, the Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver did nothing but work to continue the frenzy, winning the New England 125 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Even more impressive is that Logano had never seen “the Magic Mile” before practice started during the weekend, except for the laps he took around the track with his computer game.

The win was Logano’s fourth win in eight starts with the Grand National Division, and third with the Busch East Series. The win allowed Logano to extend his points lead in both the Championship and Rookie of the Year standings in the Busch East Series.

“I had a real good day,” Logano said after the race. “We started on the pole, led a few laps in the beginning, and then got stuck back there in traffic a little bit after our pit stop. It got pretty hairy back there for a while for sure. We’d got three- or four-wide sometimes. I just tried to get through there without wrecking, and then the cautions at the end – there were a lot of them. I was just able to get that last restart there and drive away.”

However, Logano appeared that he might not get the win after losing the lead to fellow driver Brad Leighton during a green-white-checkered finish. However, NASCAR deemed Leighton jumped the start, who backed off and gave Logano the top spot back. From there, Logano pulled away and won once again.

“That’s the second time I got jumped on the restart, so I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen,” he said. “The first time (NASCAR) didn’t call nothing, but the second time they did. They looked at it and said that was not going to fly, so we were fortunate there. The restart line was up a little bit further than that, and I wasn’t going to go until there. I’m lucky that NASCAR saw that.”

Logano led 61 of the race’s 126 laps after winning the pole for the event, which came as a surprise for the youngster, considering he’d never been on the track before Thursday’s practice and qualifying sessions.

“I never tested here,” said Logano. “I watched a Cup race here when I was seven; that’s the only time I’ve ever seen the place. I wasn’t even good here on the computer (simulator); I couldn’t even make it one lap without wrecking.”

Outside of the car, the win will help continue the media presence that has found Logano during the 2007 season.

Logano was recently featured in the July 2nd - July 8th, 2007, double issue of Sports Illustrated, which focuses on SI’s annual “Where Are They Now?” section. Logano is the featured athlete in the “Where Will They Be?” section, which profiles several up-and-coming athletes that are poised to make a splash in the future. Logano’s spread includes a picture of Joey and the #20 Joe Gibbs Driver Chevrolet car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Logano has also made an appearance on SPEED’s “Wind Tunnel” program and has been featured on a number of radio and TV shows as well.

The Busch East Series will next race at Thompson International Speedway on July 14th.

joeyloganoracing.com (http://www.joeyloganoracing.com)

Jeremy Troiano/Joe Gibbs Racing PR