Logano back in Nashville looking for Victory Lane
Joey Logano has raced at Nashville Superspeedway only twice. Testing is a different matter, and that may be why he is very comfortable on this 1.33-mile concrete oval.
He won the pole in his first trip here in June 2008 and won this race a year ago for his second of five wins on the Nationwide Series in 2009. He has led 159 laps in those starts, including a race-high 95 last year in holding off Kyle Busch, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.
Logano is pumped up to be back for Saturday's Nashville 300, the first of NASCAR's nine stand-alone Nationwide Series races this year.
``I like this track, Nashville, a lot. This is a place I get to test a lot when I run the Cup cars. ... A lot of laps around here,'' Logano said Friday. ``But yeah, it's one of my favorite tracks. I got my first pole here and won the race the second time here last time. So it seems to work good for me.''
``It seems like Joe Gibbs Racing has got a good package for these type racetracks, and I've got plenty of laps around it so it kind of works out good for us.''
Logano has had a strong start to his season, ranking 13th in the Sprint Cup points after finishing second to Denny Hamlin on Monday in the rain-delayed race at Martinsville. In the Nationwide Series, he ranks 12th in points despite running only three of the first four races with one pole and two top-10 finishes.
``I feel like in the Nationwide Series we've been doing a good job. I'm not going to give ourselves an A because we haven't won a race. We've had opportunities. We have a fast race car and unfortunately things have happened to us. I feel like we're every bit as good as we were last year,'' Logano said.
One threat Saturday could be rain.
Last year, a tornado killed two in nearby Murfreesboro, Tenn., the day before this race with the threatening weather sending drivers and crew members into the media center for cover. This time, rain is forecast for Saturday morning and could wash the rubber chewed off tires by the concrete surface from Friday night's trucks race and practice sessions, making the track slicker.
Logano is confident the Joe Gibbs cars will be ready for whatever conditions they encounter.
``We've got good grip, good bodies,'' he said. ``The guys in the shop work really hard on these things. We're riding a wave right now.''
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RESPECT THE GUITAR: Kyle Busch got lots of attention - good and bad - last June when he won the prized Gibson guitar given to the winner of every race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Many musicians were angered by the lack of respect shown to a Gibson, while some race fans didn't like bringing a rock 'n' roll tradition to the track.
Busch is back at the superspeedway for the first time since then and just his second appearance in the area. He will be racing Saturday in the Nashville 300, and all eyes will be on him if he gets to Victory Lane.
Busch said in a statement that he likes coming to Nashville, calling it a fun little track. He has led 441 laps in eight races on the track with two poles and three top-10s to go with that win.
Kevin Harvick, driving in both the Camping World Trucks race on Friday night and the Nationwide race on Saturday, won his own guitar here in 2006. He said he keeps it in the middle of his trophy case.
``It's a pretty prestigious trophy I think as far as trophies go, and you always know where that trophy came from. So it's definitely up on the list. That was one of the most exciting things about the 2006 season was winning the guitar here,'' Harvick said. ``Obviously never run the truck here. Hopefully we can come out of here with another one this weekend.''
Carl Edwards treasures his three guitars won at the track.
``It's the coolest trophy that I've ever received,'' Edwards said.
Edwards said he hasn't thought about smashing the guitar. And if Harvick wins?
``No. We won't smash the guitar,'' he said.
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BACK BEHIND WHEEL: Landon Cassill is back driving for JR Motorsports in a four-race deal on the Nationwide Series starting next week at Phoenix. JR Motorsports announced Friday that Cassill will also run at Texas on April 17, Talladega on April 24 and Richmond on April 30.
Sponsorship is set for only the first race at Phoenix with GoDaddy.com, a company headquartered in nearby Scottsdale, Ariz. The company is sponsoring 10 races with the No. 7 team for Danica Patrick this year, but she's back racing in the IndyCar Series right now.
Cassill won rookie of the year in 2008, driving for JR Motorsports in 16 of his 19 starts. He had five top-five finishes and won the pole at New Hampshire. Kelley Earnhardt, general manager of JR Motorsports, said they are committed to keeping the No. 7 team racing as long as possible.
``With Tony Eury Jr. and an extremely dedicated group of employees, this team is too good to not be at the racetrack,'' she said.
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LIFETIME DEAL: Scott Wimmer will be racing Saturday in a car painted with the logo from the ``Army Wives'' show on the Lifetime cable channel.
Actresses from the show will be at the track Saturday as well to promote the season debut on April 11 in a one-race sponsorship deal with JR Motorsports.
Wimmer, who won here in 2008, called it a privilege to drive the car.
``I think it's a sharp-looking car, and it'll look great on the racetrack,'' he said.
