Pedro, Where are you from?

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a 25 year old Brazilian, who is married to a beautiful woman called Yasmhin. I am an entrepreneur of the real estate business.

What is your favorite food and drink?

My preferred food is traditional Brazilian Churrasco (BBQ), with a nice cold beer. After that I would say traditional Pizza from Sao Paulo, that I believe is one of the best in the world.

How did you get into NASCAR?

To be truthful, I am a huge fan of Drag racing here in Brazil. When I am relaxing, I am watching the SPEED Channel here in Brazil, and that is how I turned into a NASCAR fan. Little by little I began to learn about the culture of these drivers and the passion of the sport. With that, I got myself involved in simulation racing through iRacing. For the past 3 years I have been exploring at the maximum this style of NASCAR racing. Today I am one of the top virtual drivers that Brazil has to offer in oval racing.

How did you become a fan of Joey Logano?

I turned into a Joey fan after learning about each driver. I learned that he was the youngest driver to enter the top level of NASCAR racing. With that, I started to follow him more closely, and I began to see that he has huge potential to be a champion, its only a matter of time.

What’s your favorite race track?

My favorite track in NASCAR is Daytona due to its history and velocity. I love the close finishes the track has at the finish line.

Have you met Joey Logano, and how did it go?

I have not yet had the opportunity to personally meet Joey because I live in Brazil. When it is possible for me to be in the United States to watch a Sprint Cup race, I will try to take a photo with Joey to have as a memory of my first race.

Do you have any other favorite drivers besides Joey?

Yes. Nelson Piquet Jr is a big driver, as well as Miguel Paludo in the Camping World Truck Series. Pietro Fittipaldi who runs late models and is a young kid with alot of potential, especially given the huge family history of great drivers like Emerson Fittipaldi. I believe these Brazilian drivers have a huge future in NASCAR.

Thanks for the interview Pedro!

Jason Ratcliff a new addition to the team as crew chief for Logano tried to remain somewhat neutral.

“My prediction is that Tom Brady cannot be beat if you can’t get to him, but I would really like to see the Giants win,” Ratcliff said. “I like the Manning brothers — I like the Manning family. I don’t think they can beat him — it’s going to be tough. I really wanted to see the Harbaugh brothers go at it — I’m a Bears fan. That would have been neat, but maybe next year. I love football. When I was a kid, like any other 12-year-old boy, you thought you were going to play pro football — until I realized that I wasn’t even close enough to being big enough to play pro football. They would just crush me — even in college for that matter. I’ll watch the game somewhere, but I won’t be as into it because I’m not really a Patriots fan or a Giants fan. You have to watch it for the commercials — the commercials are great. I’ll probably be sitting on my couch because I don’t have the opportunity to do that enough — sitting with my two boys and my wife. I’m sure we’ll invite some friends over and have a good time.”

Getting ready for SPEED interview at Extreme Ice Center with Danielle Trotta

Logano Talking with Danielle Trotta

Joey and his sister Danielle talk to the SPEED cameras.

Logano’s appearance helped raise money for the Meriden Silver City Quarter Midget Club, which is where he got his start in racing. The club’s facilities need repairs, particularly the leaky track tower.

Logano was racing quarter midget cars at Silver City when he was 6. He won the 1997 Eastern Grand National Championship in the Junior Stock Car Quarter Midget division at the age of 7.

“I enjoy seeing kids start off the same way I did,” Logano said.

Logano signed autographs for nearly three hours, maintaining a permanent smile as hundreds sought their moment with him. He also participated in kart racing, which he hadn’t done since 1999.

“It’s been about 12 years. I’m getting old,” he joked.

He ran several practice laps before racing. Logano drove under his NASCAR nickname, “Sliced Bread,” which he received from fellow NASCAR driver Randy LaJoie. Logano proved that racing karts was like riding a bike; one never forgets. He managed to hug corners by inches and deftly weave among other racers. The up-and-coming NASCAR racer took it easy on some of the local competitors; however, he was briefly spun out by another racer during one race.

Diane Michaud, of Southington, said she is a big fan of Logano for reasons beyond his local background.

“A big part of it is that he is local,” she said. “But he is a cautious driver that knows when to take risks.”

Lisa Bozzuto, secretary of the club’s Board of Directors, put together the event in 28 days.

“We are very thankful to On Track Racing for donating their facilities and Joey, who volunteered his time to Silver City,” she said.

Although she didn’t immediately know the total amount of money raised, she said she believes the event overall was “very successful.”

Bozzuto said the real value of quarter midget racing is the family time it provides.

“It requires the whole family,” she said. “Not many sports require that.”

Wallingford native Jody Quagniaroli came with her two sons to get autographs from Logano.

“He makes New England proud,” she said. “He’s a hometown hero.”

Logano said his rise to NASCAR prominence was anything but easy, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been enjoyable. He advised young racing hopefuls to balance work and play with racing.

“Follow your dream and keep racing,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, but I had fun doing it.”

Source

“Me and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief), we’ve worked together for two races over in the Nationwide side and I felt like we connected really quick. I felt like the two of us, the communication at the race track, at the shop — it really accelerated at a really quick rate. So, I was excited about that. When the decision came up, I think Jason was kind of a shoe-in for that deal. I think he’s the perfect match for me. I think even in practice, we come in, sit down and talk to each other and try to make the best decision with the race car we possibly can. I feel like we’ve done a really good job for those first two races. I always felt like, ‘Man, I need to work with him more.’ I think we can do good things with it. I think he’s the right man for our Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota and we’ll go out there and do the best we can this year.”

What do you think about Greg Zipadelli leaving Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Sometimes things just don’t match up perfectly. I love Zip (Greg Zipadelli) to death. I’m going up to New York this weekend to do his charity ride. The friendship is still there. Things sometimes just don’t match up perfectly and we probably will get along a lot better now that we’re not working with each other. I still like him. I think it’s a good call for him to go over there. He wants to be home with his kids more. His kids are growing up. I don’t have kids so I don’t know what that’s like, but I would assume you want to be with them a lot. I think that’s a really good call for him and I think it’s going to be really neat. I think it’s going to be the best for both of us in the long run. I think it’s something that the No. 20 team itself needed and I think Zip needed it, too.”

Do you feel more pressure this season?

“No, not right now. I’m very relaxed. I feel like my head is in the right spot. I feel like I’m very confident in myself, I’m very confident in Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and my whole team and doing the right thing. I tell you, Jason – I’ve talked to him a ton. Everyday we’re on the phone, I’m at the shop talking to him, doing something with him. I think that’s gone along really well. Then, Jason is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s there all the time. Between Dave (Rogers, No. 18 crew chief) and Jason, I’ve seen them on the Nationwide side before and those two will keep getting each other to work harder and harder and they’re going to do that over here on the Cup side along with Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief) involved with that too, it’s going to be unreal. I’m pretty pumped up about it. I think there are some really good changes at Joe Gibbs Racing that I think are going to help all three teams.”

Is it important for you to make the Chase this year?

“Yes, it’s a hard to set goals. You go to race track to win every one of them, so I think everyone’s goal is to win a championship. I think you have to shoot for the moon. That’s the only way you are going to do it. If you just shoot for making the Chase, that’s all you’re going to do. You’re not going to do anything better than that. I think you have to shoot for the moon and keep shooting for that and see what comes out of it.”

Have you experienced any changes since Darian Grubb joined Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Yeah, I think it’s refreshing. There’s new faces and there’s new changes. I think bringing Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) in and Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief), both of them are bringing a lot of new energy and a lot of new life. I think it’s something that was needed to be done. I think Joe (Gibbs, team owner) and J.D. (Gibbs, team president) made some really good calls. I know they’re tough decisions. I couldn’t imagine being put in that spot. I think it’s the right thing for our race teams and we’ll make it happen.”

What lessons have you learned in your racing career?

“When you’re little and your mother is like, ‘You just wait, I’m stupid right now but you’ll get older and discover how smart I was.’ Yeah, that was the same thing, but in racing for me. Obviously you want to be confident, you need to think that you know a lot and think that you’re the best race car driver out there. But, at the same time you have to be humble and go ask questions, talk to the guys — do whatever you can to make yourself a better race car driver. I’ve learned that stuff very quickly. It’s something that is a very valuable experience. I’m going to take that in the rest of my life, whether that’s in racing or not.”

Is this going to be a make it or break it year for you?

“I don’t make anything of it. It’s no difference to me. You should treat every year like it’s a make it or break it year. So, what’s the difference? That’s how I look at it. I should go out there and try to win every race, whether it’s contract year or not. There’s no difference there for me.”

Was last season a disappointing year for you?

“Obviously last year was a disappointment I think for all three teams. I can speak for myself — that was terrible last year. We did everything as a team completely wrong in a lot cases, whether it’s driver mistakes, team mistakes — whatever it was, we weren’t on it. With a year like that, talk about being humble, that will humble you in a hurry. That’s when you have to dig down deep. You don’t want to do that again. It was seriously no fun at all to do something like that. That motivates you a ton to go out there and do a lot better. I know I have the guys behind me now. I’m very confident going into this season, probably more confident than I’ve ever been going into a season. Obviously with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief), signing on a new sponsor like Dollar General, that brings some new life into the team, too. We’re excited about that.”

What can you do to make yourself better?

“You can’t just pin point one thing. There’s a lot of different things. I can say now, I feel like I’m a lot more involved with what’s going on with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) — I feel like we’re working on the same level now. We’re bouncing ideas off of each other a lot more. The communication is huge. If you wanted to point out one thing, it would be communication and I feel that’s going to come naturally with me and Jason.”

Does getting a new sponsor this season put pressure on you?

“It is pressure bringing them in, but it’s confidence when you get them. Think about how hard it is to get a great company like Dollar General in our sport. It’s very hard to do, there are a lot of other teams out there trying to get them. A lot of other teams with great drivers trying to get them. For us to be able to reel them in and get them, that puts a lot of confidence in our team and myself for sure.”

How have you been able to be positive with what your team experienced last year?

“Positive thinking is very important no matter what is going on. That’s something I’ve learned more this last year than I’ve ever thought of. I went to a sports psychologist, you talk to those people and you find a new way of going to a race track and a new whole way of thinking about a lot of things. That’s very, very important. I was able to see the gains you can make in that stuff. That’s the stuff when you’re down, you look at anything. I think that was some really good things to look at. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) is good in that department.”

Joey Logano 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Photos

Joey Logano 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Video

Joey Logano 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Audio

During the morning session the number 20 team ran single car runs only. During the afternoon session, the team ran with other drivers in a pack.

Joey Logano Daytona Testing Photos

As a result of rules changes made by NASCAR, cars were allowed to draft during the morning session, but Joe Gibbs Racing opted to wait until the afternoon session to draft with other cars.

Joey Logano Quotes

What did you learn in this morning’s test session?

“We’ve made single-car runs all morning, so I don’t have anything exciting to tell you. Just making changes and go out there and try it again.”

Jason Ratcliff Quotes

How did the car perform this morning with the new restrictor plate?

“It’s picked up on average about seven-tenths, which is usually what we calculate for that plate change. I think we had a little better day again at our qualifying single car runs. The wind — there was none this morning so it was perfect conditions for trying things like that. If we made six runs, I feel like we made gains on four of them. It was a good morning for us. Other than that, we’re going to get geared up now. NASCAR has requested or asked to see if we can get 10-plus cars out there with this package and really get a good feel. Yesterday there was a lot of tandem cars. We would see maybe three cars in a group at the same time. We really need a good 15-plus cars out there to really get a good feel for how this deal is going to work. We’re going to get geared up, have some lunch here and at one o’clock we’ll go out there and try that.”

Do you think NASCAR will be able to bring back the ‘drafting pack’?

“I think everybody is still going to make a strong effort to do the tandem because there is so much speed. Now that they’re (NASCAR) putting a lot more horsepower back in the cars, the disparity between two cars and one or two cars and four — they’re going to close that up I think quite a bit. They’re going to make another jump on closing the grill down a little bit. That’s what we struggled with the most yesterday, which obviously is intentional by NASCAR is getting that nose peeked out there so we can get some air in the radiator. Now they’re going to make that a little more difficult so you can get out so far to get air in there to the point that eventually you start killing the speed again and then the tandem even gets closer to the four or five car drafts. They’re working it in the right direction. I think it’s going to be interesting to see. It’s so close right now that if you start pushing the water temp too close and you get in a large pack and you can’t get clean air on the nose you’re going to get beyond your limits and the risk is not going to be worth the reward. You have to kind of play that out. It doesn’t do you any good if you can’t be there at the end. We have to work through that and let Joey (Logano) go play with it and see where that limit is going to be and let him figure out, ‘Hey, if I get close here, how much do I need to back up to get some air on the grill?’ It should be interesting.”

Joey Logano Daytona Testing Photos

Saturday, January 13, 2012 Sessions

• 9AM to 12 PM on online stream at SPEED
• 1 PM to 5 PM on SPEED TV

All times posted above are eastern time.