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Joey Logano / No. 20 GameStop Toyota Preview
Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway
#20 GameStop Toyota News, Notes & Paint Scheme:
· Joey Logano and the #20 GameStop team finished second in the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, leading on four different occasions for a total of 33 laps. Logano led with just over 20 laps to go, but was passed by teammate Kyle Busch for the victory. Logano earned his third pole of the season at Texas, more than any other driver in the Nationwide Series this season. Logano’s 10th-career pole tied him for 26th on the all-time list, along with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr. and Kenny Wallace.
· GameStop will once again be the primary sponsor of the #20 for the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. Store #1710, located in Lemon Grove, CA, will be the featured store on the lower rear quarter panel. In addition, the GameStop show car will make stops at store #5601 in Alabaster, AL; store #1595 in Birmingham, AL; and store #3847 in Oxford, AL.
· This week, EA Skate 3 will adorn the #20 Toyota as the featured game. Skate 3 delivers all the camaraderie and competition of skateboarding. New tricks, improved off board actions, and gnarly Hall of Meat carnage mixed with exciting new team-based gameplay takes Skate 3 to a new level of skateboarding fun. Skate 3 will be available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 11.
· Brian Lindley, Skate 3’s producer, will be in Talladega from his home in Seattle, Washington, as a guest of the GameStop Racing team. Lindley is a huge NASCAR fan and will be available to the media for any questions during the weekend.
· Logano has only made one start at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2009, Logano started 16th and finished third, pushing eventual winner David Ragan to the win. In Victory Lane, Ragan credited Logano with helping him win the event by giving him a push on the final lap. Logano has also made an ARCA Racing Series start at Talladega, coming in 2008, where he started 23rd and finished second after leading 15 laps.
· The #20 Joe Gibbs Racing team will run chassis #2053 (back up chassis #2067) at Talladega. It is the same chassis that Logano has raced in every one of his NASCAR Nationwide Series superspeedway starts (three at Daytona and one at Talladega), including his seventh-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. The same chassis won all three restrictor-plate races in 2008 with other JGR drivers.
· Despite running only six of the seven Nationwide Series events thus far in 2010, Logano sits seventh in the point standings on the strength of two top-fives, five top-10s and three poles. The #20 Joe Gibbs Racing team moved up one spot after Texas and now sits fourth in the owner’s point standings, just 76 markers out of the top-spot.
Logano’s Season-To-Date NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats:
|
Starts
|
Wins
|
Top 5
|
Top 10
|
Poles
|
Laps Led
|
Earnings
|
Avg. Start
|
Avg. Finish
|
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
321
|
$212,535
|
2.8
|
7.7
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Logano’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats:
|
Starts
|
Wins
|
Top 5
|
Top 10
|
Poles
|
Laps Led
|
Earnings
|
Avg. Start
|
Avg. Finish
|
|
47
|
6
|
20
|
35
|
10
|
1053
|
$1,809,514
|
7.9
|
8.3
|
Logano’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats at Talladega:
|
Starts
|
Wins
|
Top 5
|
Top 10
|
Poles
|
Laps Led
|
Earnings
|
Avg. Start
|
Avg. Finish
|
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
$32,200
|
16
|
3
|
Joey Logano Quotes:
“Talladega is a crapshoot every time you go there. All you can do it try and qualify good and keep your car up near the front and hope to stay away from the big accident when it happens. If you can survive Talladega and put yourself in a position at the end of the race, you can win it. You just have to pick and choose the right lanes and get drafting help with the right people. I’ve helped a lot of people the last couple of years, so maybe it’s my turn for someone to help me out.
“Our GameStop Toyota has been bad fast on the restrictor plate tracks. We finished seventh in Daytona earlier this year and were right there at the end of the race last year at Talladega. I’ve gotten plenty of experience on the restrictor-plate tracks in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and ARCA Series the last few years, but I’m learning every time I get out there.
“I think its going to be a great to have Skate 3 on our car this week. When I was in the GameStop headquarters last week, I was able to get a sneak peek at what the car was going to look like and it’s awesome. I know we are going to have one of the game’s producers at the track too and he is a huge NASCAR fan. That is always cool when someone can make it to the track and get to see what we do close up.”
Kevin Kidd Quotes:
“Talladega is really a free-for-all. There is only so much you can do there to control your own destiny. You give your driver a good car, but there are a lot of other factors that can affect the outcome of your day, from the draft to avoiding the big wreck. It really is a crapshoot from the time the green flag flies until the time you load up and head home. You just have to find yourself still out there at the end of the race. And if you do, you will be in contention to win.
“Our superspeedway program has really come around the last couple of years. The car we are bringing to the track has won several superspeedway races. I would love to get the car back into Victory Lane and give Joey his first superspeedway win. The way this #20 GameStop team has performed in the last few superspeedway races, I think we are right there.”
No. 20 GameStop Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team
Crew Chief – Kevin Kidd Car Chief – Nate Bellows
Engine Builder – Mark Cronquist Lead Engineer – Mike Lorusso
Engine Specialist – Dan Bajek Spotter – Mark Robertson
Jackman – TJ Ford Front Tire Changer – Terry Spalding
Front Tire Carrier – Aaron Shields Gas Man – Chris Webb
Rear Tire Changer – Chris McMullen Rear Tire Carrier – Matt Tyrell
Catch Can – Brian Larson Truck Driver – George Hoult
Tire Specialist – Ryan Martin Shock Specialist – Joel Weidman
Mechanics – Matt Aschbrenner & Ben Chase
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