Home Depot Team Notes of Interest
· Joey Logano is making a trio of debuts this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. Logano will be making his first career start in the annual Shootout at Daytona on Saturday night. While it is his first career start in the annual season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, it is also Logano’s first career start in a Sprint Cup Series superspeedway event. Additionally, Logano is making his debut as the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.
· While Logano is a rookie in the annual Shootout, the No. 20 Home Depot Team has participated in the annual event every season since making its debut in the 2000 edition of the race.
· The Home Depot will be launching its 2009 NASCAR commercial during the FOX broadcast of the Shootout on Saturday night. The commercial was filmed in January at a Huntersville, N.C. Home Depot Store and features Logano in his first starring role as driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. The commercial also includes cameos by the No. 20 Toyota, The Home Depot Racing crew, Zipadelli, Coach Joe Gibbs and several Home Depot associates.
· Logano, who made his Sprint Cup Series debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 14, 2008, will be participating in three of the national touring series participating in Speed Weeks activities at Daytona. In addition to his Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series duties, Logano is participating in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA Re/Max event on Saturday prior to the 31st running of the Shootout. Logano will be racing the No. 25 Home Depot Toyota in that event on behalf of Venturini Motorsports.
· Through 19 starts in the Nationwide Series in 2008, Logano earned three poles, one win, five top-fives and 14 top-10s.
Logano Quotes for week leading up to the Shootout
How important is the ARCA racing going to be for you?
“Daytona is going to be something new for me. I tested at Daytona a few months ago for the ARCA race and we ran pretty well. The ARCA race is important because I have to learn a lot about the race track itself and more importantly about drafting. I don’t really have any experience at it, so to learn what the car is going to do in the draft is so important. I mean I have to learn how to get on and off pit road on a superspeedway and what to expect during a green-flag stops.”
What are your goals for the Shootout?
“By the time the ARCA race is over, my goals for the shootout are a little different. Obviously the more track time I get the better. But for the Shootout it’s important to earn the respect from the other drivers to prepare for the Daytona 500. We still need to do what we can to run well in The Home Depot Toyota, and that’s where Zippy comes into play. My other two teammates will be in the shootout as well, so I’m counting on Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) to work with me and that along will be a huge help. You can’t run well at superspeedways on your own. So the first week in Daytona is about gaining experience, learning what the car is going to do and gaining respect of the other Cup drivers.”
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