Camping World RV Sales 500 Race Preview

Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.)

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano

Sunday, October 20, 2:00 pm ET

• REDEMPTION: Talladega Superspeedway, known for its pack racing, has been both good and bad for Joey Logano over the years. In his nine-career Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega, Logano has recorded two top-five and four top-10 finishes in his first five races at the track. Back in the spring, Logano was looking to get back on track at Talladega. He was running third before a lengthy rain delay stopped the race for several hours. During the rain delay, a small hole in the radiator allowed all the water to leak out, unbeknownst to the team. Once the race restarted, Logano blew an engine while running third, which resulted in a 35th-place finish.
• RESTRICTOR-PLATE RESULTS: In three points-paying restrictor-plate races this season, Logano’s results aren’t an accurate reflection of his ability. In the season-opening Daytona 500, Logano was running eighth with just a handful of laps to go before getting shuffled out in the draft. At the first Talladega race, Logano was third before his engine let go. And in the summer event at Daytona, Logano was running sixth before a right-front tire failure caused him to slam into the wall.
• GREG BIFFLE FOUNDATION: On Monday, Logano participated in the Fourth Annual Greg Biffle Foundation Mountain Retreat, a favorite event of one of Logano’s fellow racers. The event, which grants monies to shelters and rescue groups who assist with animal welfare nationwide, included driving UTV’s, clay pigeon shooting and archery.
• RACER’S DREAM GARAGE CALENDAR: Logano recently announced a new project to help raise money for his Joey Logano Foundation. The 2014 Racer’s Dream Garage presented by Shell V-Power calendar will show off drivers like Logano, Brad Keselowski, Travis Pastrana, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Helio Castroneves and several others along with their personal street vehicles. Several fans’ cars are also featured as part of the Shell Ultimate Enthusiast contest. Fan can preorder the calendar at www.joeyloganofoundation.org.

THOUGH YOU HAVEN’T HAD THE RESTRICTOR-PLATE RESULTS, CAN YOU WIN AT TALLADEGA THIS WEEKEND?

“Our restrictor-plate results haven’t really shown how well we have been there this year. From the beginning of the year, I think we have been strong. We ran really well in the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona and backed that up at Daytona until we got shuffled out of the draft with just a couple of laps to go. We were good at the first Talladega race before we lost an engine and were looking good at Daytona before our tire issue. We’ve been strong. A top 10 car there for sure. We just need to finish the race this weekend. We are good enough to win for sure.”

DO YOU LIKE THE PACK RACING OR THE TANDEM RACING?

“It doesn’t really matter, because we have to race what we are given. There are pros and cons to both, but I’ve always been pretty good at the tandem racing. I think it gives you a lot of choices and changes the strategy a lot. But in the same sense, you are pretty much at the mercy of someone else. In pack racing, you can make bigger moves, but one mistake by someone else can take out a bunch of cars all at once. But you race what you race. I feel like I’ve improved as a restrictor-plate racer over the years since I started.”