WINCHESTER – Six-year-old Quinn Snyder approached the autograph tent Tuesday afternoon at Hang 10 Car Wash on Botanical Boulevard, and a smile appeared on her face after being greeted by the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano.
Quinn and his father, Justin Shafer, had no idea they would have the chance to see Logano on Tuesday when they arrived to visit his family in Hagerstown, Maryland, in early June, but Shafer was certainly glad to have heard about the event. on the radio.
“I had met him at the track before, but never at a sit-down type event,” said Justin, a 42-year-old from Tucson, Arizona. “Usually on the track, (drivers) are in a hurry and you won’t be able to have a conversation. Kind of, drivers are more willing to talk to you. If you try to talk to them at a track, they may simply have had a bad qualifying or something may have gone wrong.
“It’s always great to be able to talk to a NASCAR driver. “It’s not every day someone of his stature comes to a smaller town like this.”
The hundreds of people who came to chat, sign articles and pose for photos with Logano on Tuesday would agree. People arrived at 10 a.m. for the session that lasted from 1 to 3 p.m. The line stretched past neighboring Sheetz, and people were still standing on the grass on the side of Botanical Boulevard about halfway through the event.
Hang 10 Chief Operating Officer Miguel Prendes said Logano is an investor in Hang 10, which was founded by Winchester native Mike Turner five years ago and has locations in several states, including two in Winchester. Prendes said Turner did events with Logano when he was working with Planet Fitness. Tuesday’s event was an opportunity to draw attention to the new Hang 10 location that opened June 1 and also present Logano with a $5,000 check for the Joey Logano Foundation, which focuses on helping children and young adults who face difficult circumstances.
Prendes was pleased to see how much anticipation the crowd had for the event.
“It’s amazing,” Prendes said while standing near the autograph tent before the ceremony. “We are getting good feedback from the community. We are very happy to see so many people. “I can’t even see the end of the line.”
Logano had a lot to smile about on Tuesday, and the 2018 and 2022 NASCAR champion hopes to have more to smile about on race days in the future.
Since 2013, the only year he has not been part of the NASCAR playoffs was 2017. Sixteen drivers will make the playoffs this year, and the driver of the No. 22 Penske Ford team is currently 16th in the playoff standings. . Logano has two top fives and five top 10s in 19 races. Logano won the NASCAR All-Star race on May 19, but has not won a points race since March 2023.
“It’s not where we want to be,” Logano said with a laugh in an interview before Tuesday’s event. “You want to stay focused and get that win. We got that win in the All-Star Game. We just have to win these next eight races and be really good.
“You can’t make mistakes. You have to have speed on the track, and we’ve done a good job here recently, getting some speed back. I feel as comfortable as I can be in the position we’re in.”
Logano led 199 of the 200 laps in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“Everything went well,” Logano said. “We had good speed in the car, we qualified ahead and managed to run very well. Honestly, I wouldn’t say it was much different than what happened this weekend in Loudon (in New Hampshire).”
Logano was running in 12th place but made contact with Chase Elliott in Sunday’s final stage at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The incident set Logano back and he finished in 32nd place.
Sunday’s race was unique due to the special rain tires used to complete the event. The tires have been used in competitions before, but it was the first time drivers finished a NASCAR Cup points race on them.
“It’s been different every place we’ve done it,” Logano said. “At Richmond, the cars seemed to have quite a bit of grip. But at Loudon, it seemed like on that (track) sealant… it’s pretty slippery when it’s wet. “We definitely realized that pretty early in the race.”
Team Penske drivers are using a new type of car this year, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
“It’s just the amount of laps you don’t do that makes it challenging,” Logano said. “We just don’t do a lot of laps in training. You get 20 minutes of practice and you can’t change a ton. Your opportunity for growth is very small.”
As for racing teams, it is difficult to maintain financial stability let alone see growth. After 16 years as a partnership, Stewart-Haas Racing will close after this season. Chip Ganassi Racing, which Logano almost joined, closed in 2021.
“You have to win to be around, but you also have to understand (what it takes) off the track, whether it’s the marketing aspect or understanding (corporate relationships),” Logano said. “I think that’s where Penske does it better than anybody. It seems like all those things are pieces of the puzzle that get the cars to victory lane. It’s not just the fast car. You have to figure out how to get the money to build the fast car.”
After his interviews on Tuesday, Logano went to spend time with his grateful fan base.
William Campos, 38, was the first person in line. Wearing a red Logano jersey, he made the trip from Manassas.
“He looked like the same guy you see on TV,” Campos said. “He was pretty cool. I like him because he has a different personality than many other drivers. He’s not the friendly guy (on the track). He just wants to win at all costs.”
John “Tugboat” Smith, 50, came from Salisbury, Maryland, to meet Logano for the first time.
“I like him because he’s a good driver on the track,” Smith said. “He is a two-time champion. He had never met him, but he seems down to earth. Very humble.
“(This event) was great. It shows that the fans are appreciated. If it weren’t for the fans, there would be no NASCAR.”
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