New Hampshire Motor Speedway “Magic Mile” Fan Favorite No. 2
Lady Luck Shines as Hometown Driver and Crew Chief Make NASCAR History
Loudon, NH — The sun may not have been shining, but lady luck sure was smiling down on Joey Logano, who became the youngest driver ever to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, when he took a soggy checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009. A fitting first win too, because NHMS is his hometown track.
Logano, a Middletown, Conn. native watched his first race at the “Magic Mile,” made his first Sprint Cup Series start here, and as fate would have it won his first race in NASCAR’s top series at NHMS.
With a risky, but brilliant pit strategy led by a fellow New Englander, Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli, the No. 20 team was able to fight back from a blown tire and lead the pack when it counted the most.
“This is so special,” Joey Logano said. “I think your first win no matter where it’s at is huge. Obviously it’s not the way you want to win your first race, in the rain, but 20 years down the road when you look in the record books, no one will know the difference. I’ll take them any way I can. This is my home track and where I watched my first Cup race. A lot of the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing are from the northeast so it’s cool to get a win here.”
It’s unusual to hear the roar of a NASCAR crowd when a race is called because of rain, but the crowd replaced the silence of the engines when the checkered flag waved to call off the race. Fan favorite Logano could hear the love when he was named the youngest winner ever in the history of NASCAR. .
“I never thought he would win so soon,” said Andrew Muise, Joey Logano fan.” It was probably the biggest surprise in NASCAR I have ever seen, and I was so glad I was at the race when Joey won and made history.”
Joey Logano returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this June, a little older and a little wiser. Since he posted his first win at the track, Logano has scored five career top-five’s, 12 career top-10’s, and was the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year.
Come see if Joey Logano can score his second career win at the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday, June 27. Tickets can be purchased online at www.nhms.com or by calling our Ticket Hotline at (603) 783-4931.
Sources: New Hampshire Motor Speedway PR