Hall of Famer Tony La Russa Sees Parallels between Baseball and Racing

Honorary No. 22 Pit Crew Member – Tony LaRussa with driver Joey Logano at Phoenix International Raceway. Photo – Joey Logano Facebook page

There was a decided bounce in the step of 72-year-old Tony La Russa as he walked from the drivers’ meeting to the No. 22 Team Penske transporter parked in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage at Phoenix International Raceway.

The baseball Hall of Famer was in uniform, but not the sort of uniform you’d expect. On this Sunday, two weeks before opening day for Major League Baseball, the three-time World Series champion manager was decked out in the bright Shell/Pennzoil colors of Team Penske driver Joey Logano. Continue reading

Brad Keselowski Ends Ford Drought with Martinsville Victory

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In Sunday’s STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, everything worked – but nothing more than Brad Keselowski’s race-winning No. 2 Ford.

Yes, that’s right, a Ford. The car maker found Victory Lane at the 0.526-mile short track for the first time since Oct. 20, 2002, when Kurt Busch won at NASCAR’s oldest and smallest premier series track in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Continue reading

Logano Well Aware of Ford’s Drought at Martinsville

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Duralast GT Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 31, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. Photo – Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Though most drivers aren’t consumed with historical statistics, there’s one particular number Joey Logano can’t forget – because the folks at Ford Performance won’t let him.

No Ford driver has won at Martinsville since Kurt Busch took the checkered flag in 2002 in a car fielded by Roush Fenway Racing. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series News and Notes – Friday, March 31, 2017

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NASCAR XFINITY Series teams are on break this weekend and will return to action at Texas Motor Speedway for the My Bariatric Solutions 300 at 1:30 pm ET on Saturday, April 8th.  Television coverage begins at 1 pm ET on FOX with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Continue reading

Logano Recovers to Finish Fifth

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Southern California Ford, stands on the grid before the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 26, 2017 in Fontana, California. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Joey Logano didn’t experience the early complications that beset teammate Brad Keselowski, but the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford nevertheless had to overcome late-race obstacles to pull off a fifth-place finish.

Logano pitted early on lap 177, along with Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott. Three laps later, an ill-timed caution trapped Logano a lap down, but he regained the lead lap with a wave-around for a restart on lap 185. Continue reading