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Joey Logano - Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Homestead 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

The Home Depot Team Notes of Interest

• Joey Logano will be making his final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start with a yellow rookie stripe on his bumper this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  It will also be the first time Logano has visited the 1.5-mile track in a Sprint Cup car although he did finish 10^th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race last year.  Crew chief Greg Zipadelli and The Home Depot Team have competed in 10 races at the south Florida track in the Cup Series and racked up two wins and five top-10 finishes including a ninth-place run last year.
• Logano has all but wrapped up the 2009 Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year title.  He leads Scott Speed by 36 points (238-202) in the standings entering the Homestead 400 this weekend.  Logano is poised to become the second Sprint Cup rookie of the year for The Home Depot, Tony Stewart captured the title in 1999 and has since won two championships.   This rookie season has been unlike most for the newcomers to the series, while it is the second year of competition for the Car of Today it is the first year of the NASCAR sanctioned testing ban.  Even without the ability to test, Logano is sitting ahead in the overall point standings (19^th) of three of the last five rookie-of- the-year winners heading into the final race of the season.
• Meet Logano and Kenny Wallace! Fans in the Homestead and Miami areas can meet Logano and Speed TV’s RaceDay host Kenny Wallace at The Home Depot Store in Homestead, Fla. on Nov. 19 from 5 – 7 p.m.  The store is located at 13895 SW 288th Street. There will be a children’s workshop, photo opportunities with the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota and an autograph signing by Logano and Wallace.
• Logano and The Home Depot Team held onto their top-20 position in the Sprint Cup Series standings following a 21^st-place finish last weekend in Phoenix.  They are sitting 19^th heading into the season finale, just 67 points behind Marcos Ambrose in 18^th.  So far this season, the team has accumulated one win, three top-five, seven top-10 and 19 top-20 finishes.
• Welcome aboard The Home Depot associates from store # 3808 from Oklahoma City.  The associates from the state capital of Oklahoma will finish up the 2009 season with Logano as they ride along with him in the 400-mile season finale this weekend.  The city instituted a “Go Green Oklahoma” project in 2007 in an effort to reduce paper waste.  The OK government initiative has reduced paper consumption amongst state agencies by over 38.2 million sheets of paper since January 2007 and has saved approximately 4,590 trees according to its website by utilizing online services.
• The Home Depot and the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) announced the finalists for the 2009 Home Depot NMPA Humanitarian Award. Finalists for the 2009 award are driver Greg Biffle, Tim Booth of Michigan International Speedway and driver Tony Stewart. The three individuals will be recognized at the upcoming NASCAR NMPA Myers Brother Awards program in Las Vegas where the 2009 Humanitarian of the Year will be announced.  The winner will receive a specially-designed crystal trophy and a $100,000 cash donation to the recipient’s designated charity. Additionally, the two remaining finalists will each receive $25,000 cash donations to their respective charitable organizations.
• The No. 20 Team is taking chassis #262 to the track for the final race of the season.  This is a new chassis in The Home Depot Team’s stable.
• The Home Depot and ISC are teaming up for one last time to give race fans the opportunity to score a Mystery Gift Card to The Home Depot. The Home Depot Mystery Gift Cards will be included the souvenir race program at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) this weekend. Gift cards will range in awards from $1 to $1,000. Be sure to purchase your souvenir race program at HMS this weekend and then head to The Home Depot to see the mystery that awaits.
• To access the online media guide visit: www.elevationgrp.com/homedepot.

Logano Quotes on Homestead:

“This will be one of those races, the final one, where I have no real idea what the track feels like in a Cup car.  I’ve ran Homestead in a Nationwide car, but never The Home Depot Toyota.  So I’ve spent the last few days looking over notes, using the simulator and picking other driver’s brains about the track.  From what I’ve seen on the tapes, everyone drives it a little different.  It seems like there are a ton of lines and looks really fun actually. Even in what I saw from qualifying, people drove all over the track and up to the wall.  I’m looking forward to it; we have one more shot to get a good finish and end the season on a high note.”

- Elevation Group of Companies for Home Depot Racing/Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release