RGeeProductions
07-23-2007, 12:25 PM
Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver Just Misses Grabbing the Famous Guitar
Joey Logano doesn’t know how to play the guitar – the legendary trophy that goes to any winner at the Fairgrounds track in Nashville , TN. But if things would have gone his way on Sunday night, he surely would have taken lessons. Instead, Logano will have to watch a fellow racer play guitar, while Logano thinks of what might have been.
Logano finished an impressive second in the NASCAR Busch East Series 150-lap event at Nashville ’s historic Music City Motorplex at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds on Sunday evening, despite running out of gas as the field went through a green-white-checkered finish with his Joe Gibbs Driven #20 Chevrolet.
Logano moved from ninth to second over the final 30 laps at the historic half-mile track, saving his car and tires until the end of the event. A late caution found Logano starting side-by-side with race leader and eventual winner Rogelio Lopez for a green-white-checkered finish. However, a long race that was filled with cautions had every driver in the field worried about fuel. Logano knew he had to conserve, and a lack of fuel in his tank might have cost him a shot at the win.
“I started shutting my motor off,” Logano said. “They told me to conserve fuel, I said ‘oh boy.’ I thought I had something on the last restart, but once I got into fourth gear, the motor started sputtering from being out of gas. Once we got in the corner, the gas sloshed over and it picked up and came back to life. It was enough to finish the race at least. I think we got a good jump on him (Lopez), but when we got into fourth gear it just died.
“We definitely had something for Rogelio on that last restart. My car was good. We went from ninth to second in the last 20 laps. I started picking it up a little bit and I started really driving the car. A lot of other guys wore their stuff out a little too quick I think. I had the winning car, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Rogelio’s car was real fast, but our car was real fast too. My congratulations to him, and it’s his first win, so I guess that’s pretty cool for him.”
It was a good finish for a day that didn’t start off so great for the Busch East Series championship points leader. Logano was mid-pack in practice and qualified 10th, which was Logano’s worst starting spot of the season.
Logano started a charge through the field and then hung around sixth- or seventh-place for most of the race. As others started falling off the pace with either mechanical problems or worn tires, Logano began to make his move.
“In qualifying, I knew we didn’t have the car to win,” added Logano. “I knew that the only way to win this race was to save tires and be there at the end. That was our plan when the race started. If you look at our practice and look at where we qualified, we were mid-pack. We have to figure that out, but saving the tires and taking care of your stuff is great.
“It was a wicked points night for us.”
Logano now holds a 147-point lead in the Busch East standings.
Logano will now head to the unusual Adirondack International Speedway in Beaver Falls , N.Y. next Saturday.
For more information on Joey Logano, please contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 788-2134 and check out joeyloganoracing.com (http://www.joeyloganoracing.com).
Joey Logano doesn’t know how to play the guitar – the legendary trophy that goes to any winner at the Fairgrounds track in Nashville , TN. But if things would have gone his way on Sunday night, he surely would have taken lessons. Instead, Logano will have to watch a fellow racer play guitar, while Logano thinks of what might have been.
Logano finished an impressive second in the NASCAR Busch East Series 150-lap event at Nashville ’s historic Music City Motorplex at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds on Sunday evening, despite running out of gas as the field went through a green-white-checkered finish with his Joe Gibbs Driven #20 Chevrolet.
Logano moved from ninth to second over the final 30 laps at the historic half-mile track, saving his car and tires until the end of the event. A late caution found Logano starting side-by-side with race leader and eventual winner Rogelio Lopez for a green-white-checkered finish. However, a long race that was filled with cautions had every driver in the field worried about fuel. Logano knew he had to conserve, and a lack of fuel in his tank might have cost him a shot at the win.
“I started shutting my motor off,” Logano said. “They told me to conserve fuel, I said ‘oh boy.’ I thought I had something on the last restart, but once I got into fourth gear, the motor started sputtering from being out of gas. Once we got in the corner, the gas sloshed over and it picked up and came back to life. It was enough to finish the race at least. I think we got a good jump on him (Lopez), but when we got into fourth gear it just died.
“We definitely had something for Rogelio on that last restart. My car was good. We went from ninth to second in the last 20 laps. I started picking it up a little bit and I started really driving the car. A lot of other guys wore their stuff out a little too quick I think. I had the winning car, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Rogelio’s car was real fast, but our car was real fast too. My congratulations to him, and it’s his first win, so I guess that’s pretty cool for him.”
It was a good finish for a day that didn’t start off so great for the Busch East Series championship points leader. Logano was mid-pack in practice and qualified 10th, which was Logano’s worst starting spot of the season.
Logano started a charge through the field and then hung around sixth- or seventh-place for most of the race. As others started falling off the pace with either mechanical problems or worn tires, Logano began to make his move.
“In qualifying, I knew we didn’t have the car to win,” added Logano. “I knew that the only way to win this race was to save tires and be there at the end. That was our plan when the race started. If you look at our practice and look at where we qualified, we were mid-pack. We have to figure that out, but saving the tires and taking care of your stuff is great.
“It was a wicked points night for us.”
Logano now holds a 147-point lead in the Busch East standings.
Logano will now head to the unusual Adirondack International Speedway in Beaver Falls , N.Y. next Saturday.
For more information on Joey Logano, please contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 788-2134 and check out joeyloganoracing.com (http://www.joeyloganoracing.com).