Bad Luck Still Follows Logano

After four races Joey Logano has an average finish of 25.5. In three of his four races he finished in 23^rd position, and is now 30^th in points. Logano was hoping to have his first top 10 finish of 2011 at Bristol Motor Speedway but that it was not to be. Using the chassis he drove at Richmond last year to a fourth place finish was not the answer either.

As with all the rest of the driver’s, win or lose, they love driving at Bristol. It’s unlike any other track.

“Racing at Bristol is like a knife fight in a phone booth,” Brian Scott said. “It’s a race that really gets you going. People always talk about the top speeds we do at places like Daytona and Talladega where we hit 200 mph. But 200 mph at those places feels nothing like the 150 mph or so that we hit at Bristol.”

“I like Bristol,” Joey Logano said. “It’s a fun track. I don’t think you will find a driver or a fan that doesn’t get excited for Bristol. But as for luck, I don’t have any there. Every time I go there now all I want is one uneventful race in the Home Depot Toyota.”

After starting the race in 18^th position, Logano found himself running in the top 10 with 50 laps to go.

“We’ve had top 10 cars every week and something keeps happening. The engine didn’t feel right most of the race, it just felt down on power. But I figured out a way to make it work and I was able to get The Home Depot Toyota up into the top 10. That’s huge for me here.”

With 20 laps to go, a tire blew and he ended up finishing 23^rd.

“What is that they say?” said Logano. “If we didn’t have bad luck we’d have no luck at all. I don’t know what we need to do to finish one of these races. It’s getting really frustrating.”

Will Logano be able to come back and finish strong in coming races? Only time will tell that, but one thing is clear, he refuses to give up.

“The guys will figure out what happened with the engine and the tire”, Logano said. “It’s tough right now, but there is plenty of racing left this season to turn it around. We know we can do it because our cars are running great.”

References:

Joey Logano News, http://www.joeylogano.com/News/2011/03-Bristol-Recap.html

Joey Logan Twitter, http://twitter.com/JLogano

NASCAR, www.nascar.com

Jimmie Johnson’s 7th Rolex 24 Hour Race

Jimmie Johnson, who officially drives the 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools racecar in the NASCAR cup series will also drive in his 7th race 24 Hour race at Daytona. He is hoping to win with help of his teammates Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney. Last year, the three plus Jimmy Vasser finished 21st in this race.

“I’ve always raced different cars through the years. I’ve always wanted to improve on my road course racing. Racing with tough competitors has helped me grow as a racecar driver.

Since 2007, the team has finished in the Rolex series: 1st, 2d, 1st, and 3rd. A championship is a valid goal. Finishing first is not out of their sites.

“It would be mean the world to me,” Johnson said. “This is my one chance.”

With all the experience and great equipment this year, it is possible to see the team win.

“We have great equipment, great drivers, great experience now,” Alex Gurney said. “We feel good about it. I think we can do it.”

The 99 Pontiac Riley team won the championship in the Rolex series twice before so they know that it can be done.

“We feel like we are not a flash in the pan now, Jon Fogarty said. “We’re a solid contender yearend and year out. We feel like we have the ability to beat anybody.”

“I don’t get the opportunity to race different cars now so this means a lot”, Johnson said. “I’ve learned a lot with this race team that has carried over to the cup side. I was able to win my first road course race last year. I’ve had a great time with these guys. I’m having a lot of fun.”