FedEx 400 Race Preview

• ONTO HIS “FAVORITE”: One of the most common questions all racecar drivers get in various question and answer sessions seems to be “what is your favorite racetrack?” And while Joey Logano normally answers with the track he’s currently at, deep down Logano will say that Dover holds a special place in his heart as his “favorite” track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) schedule. And while most people remember Logano’s end-over-end barrel roll at Dover in 2009, Logano will point to top-10 finishes in his last four NSCS starts at Dover as the highlights he remembers most from his favorite track.
• DOVER DOUBLE DUTY: Logano will again run double duty in Dover, as he returns to the seat of the No. 22 Hertz Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend at the Monster Mile. In fact, Logano will run double duty in four of the next six NSCS weekends, including Dover, Michigan, Kentucky and Daytona.
• TESTING & GOLFING: There is no rest for the weary, including Logano, leading into the Dover race weekend. On Tuesday, Logano tested with his No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team and Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski at Road Atlanta in preparation for the upcoming road course race at Sonoma. Logano will then fly to Dover early to participate in the Drive for Autism Golf Tournament on Thursday afternoon with crew chief Todd Gordon.
• MICHIGAN BOUND: After returning from Dover, Logano will take part in his first of several NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Victory Tour appearances on Tuesday afternoon. Logano will fly to Michigan and meet with members of the Detroit Lions team at their practice facility in Allen Park, Michigan. Logano will also be part of a “radio takeover” with track president Roger Curtis on 101 WRIF.
• SERIOUS NATIONWIDE SUCCESS: While Logano has reeled off four-straight top-10 finishes in NSCS competition at Dover, his success record in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) is unmatched. Logano has won the last four NNS race 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. Sponsor Hertz has also experienced tremendous success, winning a total of five races last season when running the Hertz yellow paint scheme.

AFTER THE CRAZIENESS OF CHARLOTTE, THE SERIES SEEMS TO GET IN A GROOVE STARTING AT DOVER. DOES IT FEEL THAT WAY FOR YOU TOO?

“Charlotte is a different animal for sure, because you are at home and you get to spend nights in your own bed and you normally have a lot of extra appearances during those couple of weeks. When you get to Dover, you feel like you get into a routine. And on top of that, we get to see a lot of different types of tracks in the next couple of weeks and that really tests the teams. Dover, Pocono, Daytona and Sonoma are all pretty different, so that makes this stretch of races fun. It’s definitely the summer groove though.”

WHY IS DOVER YOUR FAVORITE TRACK ON THE SCHEDULE?

“I always tell people that almost more than any other track we go to, you can feel the sensation of speed at Dover and Darlington more than anywhere else – even more than when you run 210 mph at Michigan. But I’m not sure what it is about the place that I like, I’ve just always liked it. It’s a fun place to race. It’s a lot like Bristol, just bigger. You kind of fall down into the corners and it really plants your butt into the seat. You have to stay on your toes and always kind of be looking ahead of yourself because things can happen fast there. I’ve had some good times and I’ve had some bad times at Dover – the flip in 2009 comes to mind – but I always am pretty excited to come here. You want to win at every track, but Dover ranks pretty high on my list. I’ve got a few of the monster trophies for the Nationwide Series, but I want a big one holding my Cup car.”