WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT Photos by Dwight Drum Web work by Larsen & Drum
Joey Logano Moving Up as He Ages...Finally He'll Be 18.
With another major race win under his belt, Joey Logano now has the Monster Mile on his mind
Fresh off of yet another dominating victory, 17-year-old Joey Logano now has his eyes set on the "Heluva Good!® 200" at Dover International Speedway. The May 31, 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series race will be Logano's first in NASCAR's No. 2 series following his 18th birthday on May 24. And if Sunday's race at Rockingham was a preview of what's to come at the Monster Mile, expect Logano to be running towards the front of the field.
Logano won in his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut at Rockingham Speedway, leading 257 of 312 laps and easily holding off NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader by more than four seconds at the finish line. "We're going to get a shot at Dover coming up," said Logano. "Hopefully we'll see Victory Lane there too."
Logano and Schrader were two of just five cars to finish on the lead lap. "I was bummed I didn't get the whole field lapped," said Logano with a smile on his face. "That's the plan everywhere I go."
Echoing the thoughts of fellow veteran racer Mark Martin, Schrader concluded, "That kid is for real. We're going to be watching him on TV for a number of years."
Just days after his 18th birthday, Logano will look to become the youngest winner in a NASCAR race at Dover, and in series history. Casey Atwood currently holds the record of youngest winner in any of the top three NASCAR series when he won at Milwaukee in July 1999 at the age of 18 years, 10 months.
Logano has a great opportunity to run up front. His No. 20 Toyota is prepared by Joe Gibbs Racing, arguably the hottest team in NASCAR at the moment. Plus, he's no stranger to the concrete high banks at the Monster Mile. He raced his way to a second place finish en route to clinching the series championship in the "Sunoco 150" NASCAR Camping World Series race at Dover last September.
"I feel I'm ready to go in the Nationwide Series," said Logano. "We proved ourselves in the Camping World Series and I think we're ready to go out there and win some races."
He easily became the NASCAR Camping World East Series' youngest champion at just 17 years old and did so in a dominating fashion. He tallied five victories in the East Series and one in the West Series, setting records in both series' as the youngest driver (age 16) to win a race. He also turned heads at Iowa Speedway when he outraced two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Kevin Harvick to the checkered flag, just one day after Harvick captured the win in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge.
But it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. Logano's theory has always been that he races to win. "Racing is all about winning - any kind of sport is all about winning. Winning is fun and I wouldn't be here if I couldn't win."
Regardless of what the outcome may be on Saturday, May 31, it'll be one "Heluva Good!" weekend for Logano as he begins his career in the big leagues of motorsports. "The first race at Dover is going to be pretty cool," said Logano. "I'm really looking forward to it a lot. I definitely feel prepared. I've been working toward this goal my whole life."
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