Back in 2018, the then-newly crowned Cup champion, Joey Logano, reflected on his career. He made his debut for Joe Gibbs Racing in the #02 car. Initially, he was supposed to debut at Richmond but failed to qualify. So he had to push it back to the coming week in New Hampshire. A year later, he showcased his talent by winning on the same track that he made his Cup debut.
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Speaking about that win, Logano said, “I remember the race itself, that we weren’t running stellar. We were better than the first time we were there. Which is good, we’re making progress. I had a flat left rear tire. I spun out, trying to get to the pit road, through the caution. We pitted, a lot of cars were staying out at that point because it wasn’t too long after a restart. There’s a long green flag run after that, and weather was coming – So no one wanted the green flag cycle, but they got to the point where everyone was running out of gas.”
What else happened to Joey Logano during the race in New Hampshire?
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That maiden Cup Series win came in just his 17th full-time start. It is also worth mentioning that the circumstances behind Logano’s maiden Cup win at New Hampshire were the same as Bubba Wallace’s maiden Cup win. Similar to Logano, Bubba Wallace was leading when the heavens opened and the race got suspended, handing him the win. Prior to that, he had not enjoyed such a brilliant campaign. To make matters worse, he didn’t win another race for the rest of the year. Additionally, he only managed three more Top 10 finishes.
Logano continued, “So they’re pitting, but I had 15 or so laps in my tank, more than they had. We just stayed out, and it started raining, and once it started raining, Boom! We won the race, we were not a car capable of winning that race without a circumstance like that. I remember a lot of people kind of saying, ‘Oh, you know, its all luck’. Maybe they’re right, maybe not. I feel like since then I’ve lost 10 races that way.”
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With Joe Gibbs Racing, he only clinched one more win, which was at Pocono in 2012. A year later, he moved to Team Penske, and the rest is history. Now in 2022, he has wrapped up a second Cup Series title and is heading into the new year in high spirits.
WATCH THIS STORY: Freddie Kraft Clarifies Bubba Wallace’s Post-Race Comments on Joey Logano in Michigan