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Logano, New Hampshire Motor Speedway celebrate 25 years

By Staff | May 28, 2015

NASHUA – Joey Logano still remembers his first trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 1997.

He remembers at 7 years old traveling in a camper from his Middletown, Conn., home to Loudon with his parents for race weekend.

He remembers sitting just past the finish line near Turn One, toward the middle of the straightaway.

And, of course, he remembers meeting the winner – his idol Jeff Gordon – at the hospitality village. In fact, he still has the photo of him, Gordon and his mother’s thumb taken on a disposable camera.

“My mom was so nervous that she had her finger over the lens so it was like a big thumb,” Logano said with a wide smile.

“The thumb’s still there but we got the picture.”

NHMS is a special part of Logano’s professional life as well. Not only is it home to his first NASCAR race as a fan, but it’s also where he made his first Sprint Cup Series start in 2008 and earned his first Cup win in 2009 when he became the youngest winner in Sprint Cup Series history at 19 years, 35 days old.

“There’s a lot of firsts for me at this track,” he said. “It’s always a special place.”

It was fitting that three days after his 25th birthday, Logano, who drives the No. 22 Shell/Penzoil car for Team Penske, was a guest of honor at the Speedway’s 25th anniversary celebration at the Radisson Hotel Ballroom in Nashua.

The private event, emceed by PRN broadcaster Doug Rice, brought fans and special guests, including North East Motor Sports Museum President Dick Berggren and longtime broadcaster and Vermont resident Ken Squier, back in time as it looked back on some of the track’s greatest moments over the last quarter century.

The celebration began with a video presentation with NASCAR icons such as Jeff Burton, who won four Cup races at Loudon, reflecting on their memories at the track, followed by a panel discussion with Logano, Berggren and Squire sharing their own experiences.

Gov. Maggie Hassan spoke in recognition of the event. Logano was presented a $5,000 check toward his charity as well as a lobster table as a birthday gift.

Logano appeared thrilled to be part of the celebration.

“I love coming up here, I love the area,” he said. “I feel at home when I’m up here.”

Logano’s visit comes at a profound time in his career. He’s coming off a win at the September Magic Mile race, as well as his first Daytona 500 victory in February.

While winning at Daytona should be the highlight of his racing career, he said it was equally exciting to win in Loudon – a place he called his “toughest racetrack” – twice.

“Winning here was, to me, about as cool as winning the Daytona 500,” Logano said. “Loudon is a great racetrack, but it’s not the Daytona 500, right? But for me, Loudon is like the Daytona 500 because it’s my home track and it’s a place where I struggled for so many years.

“To conquer it, that feeling of crossing the checkered flag was the same as at Daytona for me. That was something pretty cool to experience. Winning at your home track for a driver is special.”

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