NO. 5 SEED: As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase begins this weekend, Logano enters the weekend as the number five seed in the Chase for the Championship. Logano, by virtue of his three 2014 regular season victories, will go into the weekend with nine bonus points, just three behind his Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, who is the top seed in the playoffs. This marks Logano’s second appearance in the Chase, following his post-season debut in 2013 when he finished eighth in the points.
RIDING ALONG: In recognition of Manufacturing Day (October 3rd) and to help raise awareness of the third annual event, the Manufacturing Day logo will be placed on the deck lid of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion during this weekend’s race in Chicago. On October 3, 2014, manufacturers around the nation will open their doors to the public and host events highlighting the importance of manufacturing to people’s everyday lives. Recognizing the importance of the grassroots initiative known as Manufacturing Day, Shell Lubricants stepped up its commitment through a number of initiatives to celebrate the growth of the manufacturing industry and the positive impact that its companies make on the fabric and economy of the United States.
IT’S LADIES NIGHT: On Monday evening, Logano’s fiancée Brittany Baca, along with Keselowski’s girlfriend Paige White, hosted over 30 wives and girlfriends from the No. 2 and No. 22 Sprint Cup Series teams and the No. 22 Nationwide Series team, for a painting party at Logano’s race shop. The event represented a “thank you” to the significant others for everything they do throughout the year.
CHASE TO TALLADEGA: As part of the 2014 Chase Across North America, Logano will make an appearance in the Talladega Superspeedway race market on Wednesday afternoon. As part of the event, Logano will interact with kids at the Children’s of Alabama hospital at University of Alabama Birmingham. Logano will wear his bright yellow Shell-Pennzoil firesuit as part of their month-long “Celebrating our Superheroes” program.
Last Raced: New Chassis
Last Raced: Sonoma (finished 22nd as No. 2)
Track: Chicagoland Speedway
Race Start Time: 2:00 pm ET
| RADIO | Live on MRN & SIRIUS XM NASCAR Channel 90 | |
| TV SCHEDULE | Friday | |
| 1:00 pm ET, Practice (FS1) 6:30 pm ET, Qualifying (ESPN2) |
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| Saturday | ||
| 11:00 am ET, Practice (FS1) 2:00 pm ET, Final Practice (FS2) |
YOU HAVE SAID THAT THIS WILL BE 10 WEEKS OF VERY IMPORTANT RACES. HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO THE CHASE?
“You have to go into these next 10 races and bring your A game the entire time. You can’t have a letdown. This is a different Chase this year, but our Chicago race last year proved that you can’t afford to have a bad race. We won the pole and were running third last year in the first race of the Chase and blew an engine and that put us behind for the next nine races. You can’t afford to dig yourself out of a hole. Ten races sounds like a lot of time and a lot of chances, but it’s not. These next 10 weeks will go really fast.”
TEAM PENSKE HAS BEEN STRONG ON THE 1.5-MILE TRACKS SO FAR THIS YEAR. DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAMMATE WILL BE YOUR TOUGHEST COMPETITION?
“Brad will be tough to beat, because the No. 2 team is running really strong right now. And if they have a strong weekend, they are good all weekend long. But I think our Shell-Pennzoil team is equally as strong and I think that is because we work so well together. Our plan is to get both of these Ford Fusions in the final four at Homestead at the end of the year. And that all begins this weekend at Chicago. But there are a lot of tough guys out there. The Hendrick cars are always going to be strong. The Roush cars have been getting better. You really can’t overlook anyone in the Chase. They are here and in the Chase for a reason.”
