Watkins Glen: Joey Logano preview

* WHAT A VACTION: It's been nearly a month since Joey Logano and the No. 20 GameStop Toyota have been on the track in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, last competing in the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 9, where Logano finished second. Since that time, Joe Gibbs Racing's development driver Matt DiBenedetto has raced the No. 20 car on three occasions. Now, Logano will be back in the No. 20 Toyota with primary sponsor GameStop for 11 of the season's final 14 events, starting this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

* HOME STATE VISIT FOR No. 20: Logano will not be the only member of the No. 20 team racing in his neck of the woods (Logano hails from the Northeast in Middletown, CT). Engine Tuner Dan Bejak will return to his home state when the series race at Watkins Glen this weekend. Bajak, who helps build and tune the Toyota engines in the No. 20, hails from Camden, NY, just 120 miles southwest of Watkins Glen International.

* WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUT FRIENDS: Logano and the No. 20

* REPEAT OFFENDER: The Joe Gibbs Racing team will bring chassis No. 2077 to the track this weekend. The chassis, which is built specifically for road course racing, was last used at Watkins Glen International in 2009 and will be used again in a couple of weeks when the series visits Montreal.

Joey Logano:

"It seems like it's been forever since I've been in the No. 20 GameStop Toyota, so I'm excited to get back behind the wheel this weekend and get back to working with (crew chief) Kevin (Kidd) and all of the guys at Watkins Glen. It's cool looking at the schedule and knowing that we are going to be going for wins in the next five races in the row. Every time I get behind the wheel of the No. 20 GameStop car, I feel that I can win the race. And Kevin and I have been spending most of the year getting used to each other and our styles, and I think that has shown the last several races. We won at Kentucky and were in positions to win at New Hampshire and Chicago. So, I think from here on out, we'll be a threat to win every single week.

"It will also be big for me to get some more laps in at Watkins Glen. The more laps I can make in a car on the road courses just mean I'm going to be that much better. I never really raced on a road course before competing in the East Series. Now, we race several every year. And in a couple of weeks, we're off to Montreal and that is a race I'd really like to win too. So to get a lot of seat time behind the wheel of a car on the track like Watkins Glen is huge.

"It's also cool to get to see the GameStop colors back on the car. I told my guys it was like we were going 'retro' for the weekend. GameStop has been such a huge supporter of me and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Series team that its good to see them back on the car with their look. I remember climbing into the black, red and white in my first race at Dover in 2008. They've been a great supporter, and I'm pumped to get to drive those colors again."

Kevin Kidd:

"I'm really excited to have Joey back in the car this weekend. My communication level with Joey gets better and better every week, and we were really getting into our own there the last couple of races, dating back to the win at Kentucky Speedway. And Joey is getting better and better on the road courses, so it will be nice to help him hone his skills there a little bit more.

"Anytime you go to a road course, you open up a whole new set of challenges. Road course cars are set up so different and there are so many other changes to the car you can make to get it handling better, you really have to be on top of your game to make sure your communication with the driver is right on. On top of that, you set up the car a little bit different and you even pit the car going the opposite direction. But all of that makes the road courses a lot of fun too. It's a nice change of pace from the typical 1.5-mile ovals that we visit a lot throughout the year."

-source: jgr