LEBANON — Joey Logano recalled his days coming to Nashville Superspeedway before his NASCAR racing career began in the early 2000s. He was just a kid testing race cars for Joe Gibbs Racing before the track ever even hosted a NASCAR Cup race.
On Sunday, Logano celebrated in victory lane for the first time with all of his kids — Hudson, 6; Jameson, 3; and Emilia, 2 — after winning the 2024 Ally 400 Cup race in five overtimes.
“That was the first time I’ve had all three kids here for a win,” Logano said. “Jameson and Emilia had never been to victory lane before so it was really neat to have them there in their Ninja Turtle jammies. I’m pretty sure Mom (Brittany) must have woken them up.”
Logano made many trips to Nashville Superspeedway as a developmental driver for JGR long before he turned 18 and became eligible to race on the NASCAR circuit. He made his debut in the Xfinity Series in 2008 at Dover.
“I spent so much time here testing as a kid,” he said. “I came here every other week for a couple of days’ tests. So I definitely have a lot of memories when I pull on to this racetrack.”
Logano made a name for himself before his first race. He was labeled “the real deal” by veteran driver Mark Martin. Logano would often test cars for Tony Stewart when Logano was 17. Stewart said back then: “The kid has so much natural talent. At 17 years old, he’s just got great control and a natural feel.”
That is why it did not come as a great surprise when Logano, in his second race at Nashville Superspeedway, won a 300-lap Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series race in 2009 when he was 18. He beat Kyle Busch after passing him with 10 laps to go.
Logano won a guitar trophy for that victory and another Sunday night after winning the Ally 400.
“It’s really neat to be able to come back and get the second guitar,” he said. “They’re really special trophies. One of the most iconic trophies in motorsports. Everyone wants the Nashville Gibson guitar. I was lucky enough to get one of the Sam Bass (designed) guitars my first time, which obviously was really special.”
More important than the guitar trophy, however, was that he earned a spot in the playoffs after claiming his first win of the season. He also won the non-points All-Star race.
“Being at that cutoff spot (top 16) for the playoffs, that pressure’s real,” Logano said. “You don’t sleep good. You’re constantly thinking about it. It’s nice to be able to get this win to where you can take the next several weeks to, not take a breather, but at least sleep a little bit and start thinking about the playoffs as much as the next few races.”
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville NASCAR race: Joey Logano gets first Cup win of 2024
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