THE VOICE OF THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

May 2009 • Volume 8 No. 9 NEWS MAGAZINE

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Las Vegas, NV Permit No. 100 20 MAY 09 Sports Joey Logano NASCAR’s Rising Young Star

By Geri Cofone Jeter he earned a sixth place finish. Less On May 24, Joey Logano turns than one month later, Logano won nineteen. The youngest team mem- the 2008 Meijer 300 at the Kentucky ber for Racing, he currently Speedway — only his third start in the drives the #20 Home Depot Nationwide — making him the young- in the Sprint Cup series and the #20 est winner in series history. GameStop Toyota in the Nationwide And there’s more — in his first Series. In just his third start in the 2008 three races, he won the ; Nationwide, he made history by becom- additionally, in nineteen starts, he had ing the youngest driver to win a series five top-five finishes. He has seventeen race. He was 18 years, 21 days old. top ten finishes in his first twenty-four Nationwide races. The Basics For the 2009 season, Logano is do- Logano has been racing since ing well with four top-ten finishes, two 1996, when at the age of six he com- top-five, and a win in the Nashville peted as a quarter midget racer. For 300 (making him the first eighteen- the next three years, he won a series of year-old to win two Nationwide Series division and regional championships races). Currently, he is in sixth place. in the Northeast. Sprint Cup Series In his first full year in this series, Logano is driving for Joe Gibbs Rac- ing. In doing so, he takes over the car previously driven by veteran .

However, Logano is not the only athlete in the family. His sister Dan- ielle was a competitive figure skater During the next few years, Logano Nationwide Series who continues to skate professionally. raced Legend cars with great success, In 2008, Logano To help further her skating career, setting a track record for fourteen con- turned eighteen, mak- the family moved to . This al- secutive wins at Atlanta Motor Speed- ing him eligible to com- lowed Logano to take advantage of his way, and winning a Lions National pete in the NASCAR new home’s more liberal racing rules. Championship. He was only ten. Nationwide Series. In (His home state of main- More success followed as Logano his debut at Dover In- tains strict age restrictions for young moved up the ranks. ternational Speedway, racers.) 21 Sports MAY 09

ule, Logano still lives at home with his family in . His dad travels with him on the road 100% of the time, his mom attends at least 80% of the races, and his sister Danielle at- tends whenever her schedule allows. “I believe that family members should always be at the track,” says his mom Deborah. “Especially for someone my age,” says Logano, “it’s a big deal to have this moral support while I am on the road. It’s rare, and I’m very fortunate. I couldn’t be luckier.”

When asked about his expecta- Currently, Logano, ranks 33rd in can to promote Italian culture. All photos by Jeff Speer. To see more, tions for his first year in this challeng- the standings. If he continues to im- Due to his youth and his sched- go to www.JeffSpeer.com/Logano. ing series, Logano says, “This is a huge prove throughout the year, he stands learning year for me in the Home De- a very good chance of winning Rookie pot Toyota.” He says that his intention of the Year honors. is to get used to the car and the various tracks during the first half of the sea- Italian Family Values son and go from there. This close-knit family supports one Although all of the teams have another in true Italian fashion. When been unable to test before the season the family was preparing to move to at tracks where the series will run be- North Carolina, Danielle said, “There cause of a NASCAR ban on all testing better be an ice rink.” Well, there wasn’t

at sites hosting the Sprint Cup, Nation- one. So Tom built an ice rink (Extreme wide, Truck, East, and West series rac- Ice Center) so his daughter could con- es, this has especially weighed heavily tinue her career. Now, in addition to on Logano as the least-experienced her performing schedule, Danielle has Cup rookie. responsibilities at the ice rink. “It’s like going from high school Tom is also in the process of start- to the NFL without any practice,” says ing the local Italian-American club. It his dad Tom. “There was no ‘spring is still small, with approximately forty training’ for anyone.” members, but he wants to do what he

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