Finding Future Talent

  Like a lot of folks, I was glad to see Joey Logano emerge unhurt from his car after a nasty tumble down the straightaway at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. You never want to see anybody get hurt, whether the driver involved is one you like or one you hate.

  While he has his detractors, there’s lots to like about Logano. For one thing, he likes Model T Fords, and has one he drives fairly regularly.

  Then there’s his connection to Senoia Raceway.

 A good argument can be made that he’s the most famous driver ever to race at Senoia. Back in the track’s asphalt days, he spent a most memorable 13th birthday at Senoia Raceway. 

 That night, May 24, 2003, he hit the wall in his Late Model, and broke his arm. 

Like a lot of other young drivers then and now, Logano showed great promise in his appearances at Senoia.

 He’s gone on to win a Cup championship and 27 Cup races, including his latest which came on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also has 30 Xfinity Series wins and one in trucks.

 Joe Nemechek, who won an All-Pro Race at Senoia back in the day, went on to win four Cup races and 16 more in Xfinity, plus a title in that division.

  David Ragan, who won twice in Cup and two more in Xfinity, got his first Legends win at Senoia.

 Even John Wes Townley, who won two ARCA races at Daytona and a NASCAR truck series race at Las Vegas, got his first Late Model win at Senoia.

 All told, there have been nearly 100 major NASCAR victories scored by drivers who also took checkered flags at Senoia.

 Then there’s Bubba Pollard, now helping his family run the track as well as continuing his driving career. He got his first major wins and championships at Senoia and has gone on to become the face of America’s asphalt short track racing world.

 And there are numerous winners of the prestigious World 100 who also raced – and won – at Senoia. In the early years of the track and of the World 100 that list included drivers like Charlie Hughes, Doug Kenimer and Larry Moore. More recently, Shane Clanton, Scott Bloomquist and Jonathan Davenport are among those who have World 100 wins and have competed at Senoia.

 If history is any indication, somewhere among the drivers now racing at Senoia are a few who will rise to national prominence.

 I’ll be watching closely from outside Turn Two to see if I can figure out which ones they are.





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