~ 19 year old wins first race at Auto Club Speedway ~
San Bernardino County, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2009) – In one of the most exciting NASCAR NNS races of the year, Joey Logano (No. 20 GameStop/Brutal Legend Toyota) captured his first win at Auto Club Speedway, his second in consecutive weeks and fifth of the series by holding off Brian Vickers (No. 32 Dollar General Stores Toyota) to win the Copart 300 on Saturday.
“That was the most fun race I’ve ever had in my life,” the 19-year-old Logano said. “I went from a point where I don’t have a shot at this to trying to salvage a top 10 out of it to bringing home a W.”
Logano’s crew chief Dave Rogers thought Logano “really showed a lot of heart” with the victory. He’ll go for three in a row next week in Charlotte. “It could happen,” Logano said. “I never lose doubt that we’re going to get this thing right. We’re back in victory lane where we belong.”
Logano started on the pole but spent most of the race coming back from an early race incident with Greg Biffle (No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford), who later got tangled with Denny Hamlin (No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota) with less than 10 laps to go.
Did Logano think he could come all the way back and win it? “Not till the end. I promise you that,” he said. “I didn’t think we had a shot at it after Biffle decided to put us in the wall.
“You can’t put this (No.) 20 team down. I’ll tell you what, we never quit, we kept bringing it all day.”
NNS points leader Kyle Busch (No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota) left his car early in the race because of a fever and was replaced by Hamlin, who ended up finishing in 31st place after tangling with Biffle and Brad Keselowski (No. 88 GoDaddy Chevrolet).
Said second-place finisher Vickers: “It was a good run. There was one run there where we led for a while. We were better on the long runs. We had a good car. Probably the two best cars were the 18 and 20. They had just a little bit more.”
Carl Edwards (No. 60 Valvoline Ford) was third and gained 90 points on Busch and currently trails him by just 155 points. “I hope everybody took notice of how great that race was. People talk about this racetrack but they forget that we have the highest speeds here of any racetrack and we have the most racing room. I think tomorrow we’ll have less restarts and more green-flag racing.
“This is one that I’d like to go back and watch again for just the pure excitement of it.”
Does he think he can catch Busch? “There are five races left and that’s only 32 points a race so we can do that.”
There were a track-record 10 caution flags during the race.
Fans attending Auto Club Speedway’s Inaugural Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race — the Pepsi 500 on Sunday, is sure to experience even more exciting world-class NASCAR racing. In addition to the high speed thrills, fans can also take advantage of free parking, bring in their own food, or partake in the unbelievable menu items on site as well as other cost-savings opportunities while enjoying a full day of entertainment and fun at a fantastic family value.
The ACS entertainment lineup includes rock-and-roll legend Foreigner who will perform live at the Speedway’s Opportunity, California FanZone main stage. Multi-platinum recording artist and actor Jesse McCartney will perform the National Anthem prior to the Pepsi 500. Kelsey Grammer will serve as Grand Marshal, giving the most famous command in racing “Gentlemen, start your engines.” Christian Slater will take the wheel of the Official NASCAR 2010 Chevy Camaro Pace Car. Audrina Patridge of MTV’s “The Hills” will wave the Green Flag to get the Pepsi 500 underway.