JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion

YOU AND BRAD AND RYAN REALLY GET ALONG TOGETHER. WHEN AND HOW DID THAT CHEMESTRY COME ABOUT? “I think the three of us have a lot in common and we just naturally get along. I think we all really get the big picture and I think that is hard to find a lot of times. When you get teammates that all can see the big picture together and understand what we are there to do. Yes, we all want to win. Each one of us wants to win the race and have the trophies and all that but we also realize if we don’t work together none of us are going to raise the trophy up. I think everyone at Team Penske sees that, drivers included. You might see some of that throughout teams but then drivers don’t see it that way, but I think we have showed it a lot, especially superspeedway racing and the way we are able to work together and get ourselves up front and ultimately win races. It is important that Brad and I have grown into having a great friendship at this point. We talk about a lot of things outside of racing. I think that is valuable. I do the same thing with my crew chief Todd (Gordon) and I think those relationships are very valuable when they become more than a business relationship. It makes it easy to talk things out. I think it is hard to have that but I think it is very important.”

YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR FAIR SHARE OF BOO’S DURING DRIVER INTROS. DOES THAT BOTHER YOU? “I secretly love it. Don’t tell anybody. In all honesty, yeah I would rather be loved than hated but I would rather them say something than nothing. In all honesty, Martinsville is the race track that I think they dislike me the most. I can tell usually by the pick-up truck ride and counting the number of birds I get. All I can think of is how cool it would be to win there and do a big burnout. That would be the coolest. That is motivation to me. I do like that people like me and my fans that support me as a person and as a race car driver. I feel like they have gotten to know me, my personality and what I stand for. I also respect that some people don’t and that is okay. I am who I am and I am not going to change anything. Also I appreciate the passion that our fans have. Love it or hate it, love or hate me, they have passion and I think that is very important in sports. You see that in football, you see that in baseball and basketball. You have a team you like and you have a few teams you really dislike. That is part of it. I think that is good. I think that is healthy for our sport. As long as they are making noise.”

The return of the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series will take the green flag in March in Monterrey, and the 2017 champion will be crowned in November at Mexico City, as part of a 12-race calendar announced today.

The schedule for the top racing series in Latin America features a challenging mix of six oval and six road-courses events, and includes stops at nine different venues throughout Mexico.

The NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series will open the season at Autódromo Monterrey, a 3.4 km (2.1-mile) road course in Apodaca, Nuevo León, on March 26. Daniel Suárez, a Monterrey native and the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion, is a two-time winner on the oval layout at his home track. The championship race for the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series will take place on the 1.63 km (1.013-mile) road-course circuit at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on Nov. 12. The track has been a staple of the series since its inaugural season under the NASCAR banner in 2007.

“As we enter a new era in the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series, the 2017 schedule is a terrific blend of the top venues throughout the country,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of weekly & touring series. “The fans will be treated with the exciting action that is the trademark of NASCAR racing, whether the drivers are speeding down the straightaways on the ovals or fighting for positions heading into the twists and turns of the road courses.”

Martin Truex Jr. has been named the 2016 Eastern Motorsport Press Association National Driver of the Year. The award was voted on by members of the EMPA.

Driving the No. 78 Toyota Camry for Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, Truex’s stellar 2016 season in NASCAR’s premier division included four wins, five poles and a series’ leading 1,805 laps led, all career season highs for the native of Mayetta, N.J.

His dominating victory at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway set a NASCAR record for miles led (588) and an event record for laps led – 392 out of 400.

“Martin had an impressive season, winning two of the triple crown events – the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 (Darlington, S.C.),” said Earl Krause, a veteran motorsports journalist, EMPA board member and lead announcer at Pocono Raceway. “He nearly pulled off NASCAR’s version of the triple crown but came up inches short of winning the Daytona 500. He also had exciting Chase victories at Chicago and Dover. I covered Martin since his early racing days at Wall Stadium in New Jersey, and like his father – Martin Truex Sr. -- he has always been a class act both on and off the track.”

This is the second time Truex will be the recipient of the EMPA Al Holbert Memorial National Driver of the Year trophy. He received the prestigious hardware after winning the 2004 XFINITY Series championship.

“My racing roots are in the Northeast and to be recognized by the EMPA takes on a special meaning for the entire Truex family,” noted Truex. “My family has spent many days and nights racing at Northeastern tracks, and that’s why I always feel like I’m going home when the NASCAR series competes at Dover, Pocono and New Hampshire.”

Truex added, “I want to thank the EMPA members for this humbling honor. The real heroes are my teammates at Furniture Row Racing for bringing fast race cars to the track on a weekly basis. I also want to thank our team owner Barney Visser, team president Joe Garone and our sponsors – Furniture Row, Denver Mattress, Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, TRACKER Boats, Auto-Owners Insurance and Visser Precision.”

Truex joins an elite list of drivers from different racing disciplines who have garnered the EMPA National Driver of the Year award, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart and Terry Labonte from NASCAR; Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Mark Donohue from IndyCar; and Joe Amato and John Force from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

-- Press release courtesy of Eastern Motorsport Press Association