News

THE RACE

Buckle Up 200 at Dover International Speedway (1-mile speedway, Dover, Del.)
Saturday, May 31, 2:30 pm ET

THE CAR

The No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang
Driver: Joey Logano

THE NEWS AND NOTES

· JL RETURNS TO THE SEAT: Joey Logano will make just his third NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start of the season this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Logano last raced in the No. 22 Mustang at Darlington, where he finished fifth - he also finished fourth at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season. Logano will drive in four of the next five NNS races, including Dover, Michigan, Kentucky and Daytona.

· FOUR AND COUNTING: Logano comes into Dover riding one of the most impressive streaks in all of NASCAR’s top three series. Logano has won the last four NNS events at Dover, sweeping both races at the track in 2012 and 2013. In those four races, Logano has led a total of 510 of the 800 laps run. Logano’s career numbers at Dover are as equally impressive, with four wins, six top-fives, seven top-10s, two poles and an average finish of 5.4 in his 10-career starts at the track.

· WELCOME BACK HERTZ: The Hertz Corporation, one of the worlds’ leading car rental and transportation companies, will return as the primary sponsor of the No. 22 Ford Mustang this weekend at Dover. Hertz, who has been a proud supporter of Team Penske and the No. 22 Mustang since the beginning of 2013, went to Victory Lane with Logano in both of his victories at Dover in 2013 and won as a co-primary sponsor with Logano at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series earlier this season.

· AN IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY:  This weekend will mark the sixth anniversary of Logano’s much-hyped NNS debut, which came at Dover back in 2008 -  less than a week after his 18th birthday. In that race, Logano started ninth and finished sixth. It was just two weeks and two races later, in his third-career start, that Logano made history by becoming the youngest NNS winner in NASCAR history.
    

THE Q & A

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 HERTZ FORD

WHY HAS SUCCESS AT DOVER COME SO EASY FOR YOU IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES, ESPECIALLY THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS?

“I wouldn’t say it’s come easy by any means. Dover is just one of those tracks that I’ve taken a liking to over the years and I’ve really figured out what it takes to get a car around there. I can then relate that back to my team and my crew chief and we can get the car dialed in just like I need it. But it starts with having great cars and a great team behind you. When you come to the track, you are prepared and you just need to make little adjustments here and there to make sure everything is how you want it. And over the years, I’ve just figured out what those little adjustments need to be to be fast.”

YOU MADE YOUR NNS DEBUT AT DOVER SIX YEARS AGO.  WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT NOW LOOKING BACK ON THAT DAY?

“It was surreal for sure. I was just 18 years old and I didn’t know any better. We had press conferences and media all day long. It was
crazy. I was just thinking ‘whoa is this what this is always going to be like.’ Once the race came and went, things kind of got back to normal. But it was a lot of fun. I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into and what to expect. It was a learning process for sure. And I was young and just learning everything I could. It was a lot of fun and I wouldn’t change it for anything now.  All of those experiences, both good and bad, helped shape me into the driver I am today.”