No. 20 Dollar General Toyota News & Notes:

• ALL-STAR WEEKEND SERVES AS PRACTICE FOR COKE 600: Last weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spent the first of two-straight weekends racing at what is most team’s “hometrack,” Charlotte Motor Speedway. The annual lead up to the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star and Sprint Showdown events allowed teams to get in some much needed practice in race conditions for this weekend’s big event. Logano had to try and transfer into the All-Star event through the Sprint Showdown. Logano qualified 13th but wasted little time working his way to the front. By lap 10 of the 40-lap event, Logano was already up to fifth. However, going into turn one, Logano got loose and brushed the wall, falling back to 12th. After the halfway break pit stop, Logano started to charge to the front once again, getting as high as fourth before the handling of the No. 20 Toyota began to go away. When the checkers flew, Logano came home in sixth. Unfortunately, Logano didn’t transfer into the main event through the Showdown or through the Sprint Fan Vote, which went to former Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte.
• BUSY WEEK AT HOME: A lot of people automatically assume that when the Sprint Cup Series visits Charlotte Motor Speedway, which lies within 20-miles of a majority of the race teams, that the teams and drivers enjoy being close to home and sleeping in their own beds. And while that is the case, Charlotte race weeks also proves to be some of the busiest both on and off the track of any on the schedule. Prior to the All-Star event, Logano attended the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, did several interviews with local TV and radio stations, as well as participating in two press conferences at the track and also filming segments with ESPN for their race broadcasts later in the year. This week, Logano will shoot several videos in and around the Huntersville, NC area several days. He will also host some guests at JGR’s shop, participate in some go-karting and make several appearances at the track on raceday.
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME: Logano came into the NASCAR world as soon as his age let him. Just days after his 18th birthday, Logano made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Dover and won just a couple of weeks later in Kentucky. Later that same year, he made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut still at the age of 18. He became the youngest to compete in the Daytona 500, the youngest Sprint Cup Series winner and Rookie of the Year. Now, Logano can look back on that and say “man that was some time ago” as Logano will be turning 22 years old on Thursday, May 24th.
• STRONG STATS AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: One of the questions most commonly asked of Joey and any racecar driver is “what is your favorite racetrack.” While Logano likes to answer with “the next one,” he will also commonly tell fans and media alike that Charlotte Motor Speedway ranks high on his list and for good reason. Logano has an average finish of 8.2 in six career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts (points paying races) at Charlotte. In those six starts, he’s earned two top-fives (third in 2011 Coke 600, fifth in fall 2009 event) and four top-10s. His 8.2 average finish leads all active Cup drivers at the track.
• HONORING OUR EVERY DAY HEROES: Throughout 2012, Dollar General, along with its vendor partners, will celebrate and recognize its customers through the Honoring Our Every Day Heroes program. During the month of May, the theme is celebrating Moms who do extraordinary things every day for their families and communities. To learn more about the Honoring Our Every Day Heroes program, visit www.dollargeneral.com/everydayheroes.
• THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA: Dollar General vendor partners Gildan, Scott Brand, Slim Jim, Hellmann’s, Lysol, Kraft Singles, Today and Always, Colgate, Glad and STP will be featured on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• THE RACE: The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, NC; 1.5-mile oval) is set for Sunday night, May 27 at 5:30 pm ET. The race will be broadcast on FOX (TV) and PRN (radio).

Logano’s 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Logano’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Logano’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats Charlotte Motor Speedway:

From the Cockpit:

Joey Logano Quotes: “I’m ready to get back on track this week at Charlotte. I always enjoy racing here and it is my favorite track on the schedule. I also really enjoy it because you always learn a lot during the All-Star race weekend and we learned a lot of stuff about what to do and what not to do. The biggest thing is you hope that the weather will be about the same from one weekend to the next because Charlotte is a very weather sensitive track. Even though we didn’t make it into the All-Star event, which is really disappointing, we were able to gather some information and come up with some ideas about what worked and what didn’t work. That will hopefully make us even more competitive for the Coke 600, which is one of my favorite events of the year. Adding that extra 100 miles really adds a lot to the race. Cars are engineered to make it 500 miles, but you normally see a lot of failures in that last extra 100. I’ve always been pretty good here and I know what I want in the car. We just need to get it figured out and start the race off strong. Hopefully we can get Dollar General a win over here on the Cup side now that we’ve got them one on the Nationwide side.”

No. 20 Dollar General Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team:

Driver – Joey Logano
Crew Chief – Jason Ratcliff
Car Chief – Jason Shapiro
Race Engineer – Jacob Canter
Engineer – Mike Lorusso
Spotter – Rocky Ryan
Shock Specialist – Dusty Boyd
Mechanic – Scott Geerts
Mechanic – Todd Foster
Mechanic – Leo Thorsen
Tire Specialist – Jerold Shires
Engine Tuner – Mike Johnson
Tires – Bill Byrne
Truck Driver – Thomas “Thumper” McCrimmon
Truck Driver – Scott “Scooter” Crowell
Jackman – Jason Tate
Gasman – John Eicher
Front Tire Changer – John Royer
Front Tire Carrier – Chris Taylor
Rear Tire Changer – Joe Crossen
Rear Tire Carrier – Eric Groen

About Dollar General:

Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for more than 70 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations.

Dollar General is committed to the communities it serves and is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that help individuals learn to read, prepare for their GED or learn to speak English.

Find the Dollar General store nearest you or learn more about the company at www.dollargeneral.com or on Dollar General’s Facebook page.

DG at the Track:

Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America, with 10,000 stores in 39 states. Here are the 11 closest to Charlotte Motor Speedway: