· FINAL RACE OF THE YEAR ON TAP:
This weekend’s 300-mile event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Southern Florida marks the end of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season for the GameStop Toyota and driver Joey Logano. This season has been one to remember for Logano. Through just 24 events, Logano has amassed two wins, 15 top-five finishes and an astounding 23 top-10s. The only race Logano finished outside of the top-10 was earlier this year in Nashville, when pit strategy and fuel mileage cost the team a sure top-five finish.And despite missing 11 races in the Nationwide Series, Logano still finds himself seventh in the point standings. Logano’s average finish in 2010 of 4.8 is the best of all Nationwide Series drivers who have run more than one event. Logano’s 4.8 average finish is better than most of the other top NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers, including Kyle Busch (5.2 average finish), Brad Keselowski (5.3), Kevin Harvick (6.4) and Carl Edwards (8.0).
· DOGS, BEARS, BIRDS & SUNGLASSES FOR HOMESTEAD: Two companies, Mastiff Games and Wiley X, will share time with GameStop on Joey’s No. 20 this weekend at Homestead. Mastiff Games is a developer and publisher of video games and a licensee of Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft and Nintendo of America. They take a great deal of pride in producing some of the very best localizations in the video games industry, together with original products. Some of Mastiff Games’ most popular titles include Remington Great American Bird Hunt, Remington Super Slam Hunting North America and Reload. Also on the car is Wiley X.
Wiley X® Eyewear is a leading provider of protective eyewear and ballistic products for the U.S. military, outdoor sports enthusiasts and the safety and shooting industries. Wiley X continues to be well represented by top drivers who depend on the company’s superior optical clarity and High-Velocity Protection (HVP™) technology. In fact, Wiley X is the only premium sunglass manufacturer that has official ANSIZ87.1-2003 high velocity and high mass impact standards certification on its entire product line.
· LOGANO EARNS SEASON-LONG POLE AWARD: When Joey earned the pole at Phoenix International Raceway last weekend, he wrapped up the award for most NASCAR Nationwide Series poles in 2010. The top-qualifying spot at Phoenix earned Joey his seventh pole award of the season and the eighth for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team (they also won the pole at Darlington Raceway with Denny Hamlin earlier this season).
Newly crowned NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion Brad Keselowski has the second most poles in 2010 with five. The pole in Phoenix also gave Logano 14-career Nationwide Series pole awards, moving him into 16th place on the all-time pole awards list, tied with Greg Biffle, Harry Gant and Dale Jarrett.
· JOEY GETTING ALL DRESSED UP WITH SOMEWHERE TO GO: And that somewhere is the NASCAR Nationwide Series Banquet at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on South Beach in Miami on Monday, Nov. 22. Logano will attend the banquet to celebrate his 2010 campaign and to help honor all of the award winners in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2010. Logano also hopes to celebrate with his JGR teammates should Kyle Busch and the No. 18 team hold on to the Nationwide Series owner’s championship following this weekend’s race at Homestead. Heading into Homestead, the No. 18 team is up by 41 points over the No. 22 in the owner’s standings.
· STAT OF THE WEEK: 20. In the ever-present, yet often under the table, battle of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Logano has bested his JGR counterpart Kyle Busch on 20 different occasions in their NASCAR Nationwide Series career. Of those 20 races where Logano has finished better than Busch, four have been for the win when Kyle has finished in second-place.
· FEATURED ON THE No. 20: GameStop #806 in Norfolk, VA will be the featured store on the lower rear quarter panel of the No. 20 GameStop Toyota this weekend in Homestead.
“Well, the season is almost over, but we’ve got one more shot to grab another pole and another win this weekend at Homestead. Homestead is a cool place, but it is one of those tracks that so many people forget about, because we only race there once a year and it’s always at the end of the year. On top of that, there aren’t a lot of other tracks like it. Homestead is a 1.5-mile track like so many others, but its shape is a lot different than most of the other 1.5-mile tracks. Most tracks have a curved front stretch or a dog-leg front stretch, where Homestead is straight. That makes it much more like some of the one-mile tracks we go to.
“Homestead always has a cool feel to it too though because it’s the last race of the year. Everyone wants to win the last race of the year to end their season on a good note and can carry some momentum into the next season. We’ve got a shot at picking up our eighth pole and third win of the season, and I can’t think of a better time for it to come. I’ve been good in Homestead before. I’ve got a pole and a top-five finish there. And I’ve always been strong on the 1.5-mile tracks. So there is no reason that we shouldn’t be able to go out there and end the year on a high note.
“It’s very cool that we have two separate companies on the car this weekend along with GameStop. I’ve had Mario and a lot of characters on the hoods of my car before, but I’ve never had a big dog’s head. It’s a bright cool-looking car and it’s hard to miss with the big head of a dog on the hood. Then, to have Wiley X, who has always been a big supporter of me, on the car as well is cool. It’s great when GameStop gets a chance to work with these companies and all three of them can promote their products together.”
Kevin Kidd Quotes:
“I’m pumped to end the year at Homestead. I’m always excited to get back to the 1.5-mile tracks, because Joey has always excelled at those tracks. We’ve always had some pretty good setups and cars that handle really well at those tracks. We’re taking chassis 2073 this weekend, which last ran at Kansas Speedway when Joey won the pole and the race. And there is no doubt we can do that again this weekend. In its three races, the car has two poles, a win, a second and a third. So we know the car is good and we know Joey is good, so that gives this team a lot of confidence going into the weekend.
“Then again, it’s always bittersweet to end the season. At this point, everyone is ready for a break and ready to spend a few weekends at home, but the camaraderie of the guys on the team is something that we all miss when the season is over. This is our job and this is what we do for a living. We enjoy spending the time with everyone on the weekends. But, before you know it, the 2011 season will start, and we’ll be back at it again. So in the end, a little R&R time is good for everyone.
“If we can walk out of Homestead with a pole and a win, and Kyle can finish second and wrap up the 2010 owners title for JGR, that would be the ultimate weekend right there.”
- Joey Logano, Inc. / Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release
