Joey Logano O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Race Preview

Joey Logano had a chance to join elite company just a couple of weeks ago at Kansas Speedway by possibly winning this third-straight NASCAR Nationwide Series event.  With previous wins at Dover and Charlotte, Logano looked to be on his way to joining that elite group when he won the pole at Kansas and led the first 30-plus laps.  Unfortunately, the car got tight and as the team was making changes to get the car better under the warmer conditions, Logano got involved in an accident with the No. 6 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  The damage from the incident left Logano with a mangled car and two laps down.  However, the team never gave up, and Logano worked his way back on the lead lap and eventually grabbed a third-place finish when the checkers waved. RACING WITH NASCAR THE GAME? PERFECT SPONSOR TO WIN:  While Logano’s No. 20 Toyota’s normally carries special paint schemes with aliens, cowboys, military members or even cartoons that are featured in popular upcoming games, this weekend the car will have a familiar logo on it – the NASCAR logo.  The GameStop Toyota will carry the look of the new NASCAR The Game: Inside Line this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.  NASCAR The Game: Inside Line blows open the adrenaline-fueled world of stock car racing, thrusting you right into the heart of the world’s best motor sports racing series. It’s the most accurate, authentic, pulse-pounding NASCAR game yet. For the first time, you can take the wheel in thrilling recreations of actual NASCAR race moments. NASCAR The Game: Inside Line taps into some of the most advanced technology in racing. Telemetry and performance data from the actual cars is used to create in-game challenges that are more than mere simulations, they are perfectly replicated real-life race scenarios. This is your chance to rewind, relive and rewrite NASCAR history. NASCAR The Game: Inside Line is available Nov. 6 for PS3™, Xbox 360® and Wii™. TEXAS TWO-STEP NEEDS ONE MORE STEP:  Despite his 17-career NASCAR Nationwide Series victories, none of them have come at Texas Motor Speedway.  Logano has raced at TMS eight times in his NASCAR Nationwide Series career and has picked up four top-fives and five top-10s along the way.  Logano’s best finish came in the first race of 2010, when he started on the pole, led 33 laps and finished second.  Logano’s other top-five finishes have all come in the form of fourth-place runs, which he has done on three occasions.  Logano also has a lot to make up for.  Back in March, Logano struggled to a 15th-place finish – one of only four finishes all year for Logano outside of the top 10. TIME TO WIN ONE FOR THE HOME TEAM:  Race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway always means a little more to Logano and the No. 20 GameStop team.  That’s because TMS is the home track for the corporate offices of GameStop, long-time sponsor of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and Logano.  GameStop is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, just a short drive from the racetrack. GameStop is the world’s largest video game and software entertainment retailer and has been a supporter of Logano and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota since he made his debut at Dover International Speedway in 2008.  Logano has never been able to win at Texas, but after racking up eight wins in just 19 starts this season, it looking to grab his ninth and his first at the 1.5-mile track. THE RACE:  The O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, TX; 1.5-mile oval) is set for Saturday night, Nov. 3, 2012.  The race will be broadcast on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. ET, with radio coverage on PRN. Joey Logano on Texas:  “Three more races to go this season, and it’s pretty exciting to head back to Texas. That place is pretty special because of its relationship with my sponsor GameStop.  They have been with me for so long and I haven’t been able to get them a win yet at the track, so that is my main goal this weekend.  We had a great car at Charlotte a few races ago and we can take a lot of what we learned there and apply it to Texas.  I feel like we’ve really stepped up our 1.5-mile program and hopefully that shows this weekend at Texas.  I’ve won the pole there, I’ve led laps there and I’ve got a bunch of top fives.  Now, we just need to win there. “Texas is tough.  It’s very bumpy, and it takes a well handling car.  The key is to come right off the trailer pretty close and then just have to make minor adjustments to the car as the weekend goes on.  Plus, we are racing at night and we do all of our practice during the day, so that can be tricky too.  You might have a car that handles well during practice, but things change a lot at night.  So you have to be able to build some adjustability into the car. I feel like that was what we struggled with the most in the last race at Kansas, so I think we will have that figured out this weekend.  I’m excited to get back in the car.  I feel like I have a good shot at winning at least two of these last three Nationwide Series races.  And hopefully that will start this weekend.” Adam Stevens on Texas: “Texas is tricky. The tire combination means that the tires will fall off quite a bit.  We practice in the afternoon and race in the evening and the changing track conditions make getting the balance right a challenge. The drivers tend to really earn their money here.  The place is tough, and it is fast. With the way these Nationwide cars are set up with the tapered-spacer, you don’t come off of the throttle much, especially if you have a good handling car.  Visually watching the cars reminds me why I’m not a driver with the bumps and relatively low grip – these guys have their hands full at Texas.  I know Joey’s best finish there is second, and we struggled in the spring race.  I think we can improve on previous results and challenge for the win.”