Logano’s First Year is in the Books

November 23, 2009

It's official. The 2009 NASCAR season is in the books as is Joey Logano's first year as the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota and his rookie campaign in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. It's been an eventful first season for the 19-year-old from Middletown, Conn. It was a year in which he competed against his own childhood heroes and scored the first win of what is shaping up to be an indelible Sprint Cup Series career. On Sunday, November 22 Logano clinched the 2009 Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year honors at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Logano experienced a series of firsts throughout the course of the 2009 season and created memories that will leave a lasting impression on himself, his family, his growing fan base and the sport. The following is part one of a recap of some of the most memorable moments of Logano's rookie season.

Walking to the starting grid for the Daytona 500. Logano had been in Daytona almost two weeks before walking to the starting grid for the 2009 Daytona 500. Despite having spent the week and a half leading up to the 500 participating in a variety of Sprint Cup Series activities, Logano was still taken aback by the grandeur of walking to the starting lineup for the sport's biggest race. It was Logano's "welcome to Sprint Cup Racing" moment.

Starring in his first commercial for The Home Depot. It wasn't Logano's first acting gig for primary sponsor The Home Depot but it was his first in which he had a starring role. The commercial shoot was a two-day process and the ad featured Logano and a store associate of The Home Depot walking through The Home Depot store, picking out the "items" needed to win Sprint Cup Series races. Logano's pit crew, crew chief Greg Zipadelli and car owner Joey Gibbs all made cameo appearances in the ad but Logano was the star and fans have been catching the ad all season long.

Being voted into the All-Star Race. Logano became a member of the starting field for the 2009 Sprint All-Star Race with an assist from the fans and The Home Depot associates. The All-Star race consists of drivers that have won in the current or previous season, two drivers that "race their way" into the All-Star race by being one of the top two finishers in the All-Star open and one driver is selected by the fans. That honor fell to Logano for the 2009 All-Star Race. He was voted in and then raced to an eighth-place finish.

THE wreck. It wasn't a favorable moment but it is still going to be a memorable incident for Logano and the sport. Racing down the backstretch in the AAA 400 at Dover in September, Logano was working his way under driver Bobby Labonte when Labonte started to come down the track which forced Logano to let off the gas. Driver Tony Stewart was right on the bumper of the Home Depot Toyota when Logano was forced to let off the gas. With nowhere to go, Stewart got squarely into the back of Logano and started the chain reaction accident that resulted in the Home Depot Toyota barrel rolling through turn four. The car rotated seven times before coming to a stop. Logano walked away unscathed but a little weary. The media attention following the act positioned Logano in the national spotlight as he was featured in numerous national television shows and participated in interviews with ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's The Early Show.

Check back later for more memorable moments from Logano's first full season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing.