Bowyer gets a ticket to ride; Logano to get No. 20 Cup ride

LOUDON, N.H. _ L.J. Place of Concord, N.H., wondered what she had done wrong when she looked in the rearview mirror of her mid-size SUV and saw the flashing blue lights of a New Hampshire State Police cruiser tracking her down. Actually, Place was pulled over Monday afternoon near Exit 15 on Interstate 93 North not for what she did wrong, but what she did right: namely, observe the state's recently amended ``Move Over Law,'' which calls for oncoming motorists to give a wide berth to stationary law enforcement or emergency vehicles displaying red, blue or amber warning lights.

As part of an effort to promote the new safety initiative, New Hampshire Motor Speedway officials enlisted the aid of NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer, winner of last year's Sylvania 300 who made his Winner's Circle appearance here by riding with State Police trooper Abbott Presby and surprising lucky motorists on I-93 with $7,000 worth of tickets to the Sept. 14 Sprint Cup event at NHMS, which will serve as the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

``It was fun,'' said Bowyer, who arrived the Granite State on the heels of a solid seventh-place finish in the Sharpie 500 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowyer's effort at Bristol vaulted the Richard Childress Racing driver into sole possession of 12th place after he entered the race in a two-way tie for 13th with Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan, who now trails Bowyer by 12 points.

``On our first one, we pulled up on a guy who was a rock hauler and had a Peterbilt with an Earnhardt decal on the back window, so you can't beat that,'' Bowyer said. ``I think they're excited. Obviously, the biggest thing when they get pulled over and get a ticket, it's a ticket to a big race and it's not attached to a big fine that puts a frown on their face. So, they're left with a smile on their face.''

``Oh, this is fantastic,'' Place said after Bowyer emerged from the state police cruiser to present her with four tickets to the Sylvania 300. ``I thought I was in trouble. I thought I couldn't have been going too fast, because I pulled over like I'm supposed to.''

Place, who works for New Hampshire's Department of Transportation along with her husband, Terry, couldn't believe her good fortune. ``My husband turns 40 this weekend and this is his present,'' she said.

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The reason Bowyer was in New Hampshire Monday afternoon was because it was where he recorded the first Sprint Cup victory of his career in last year's Sylvania 300.

``Oh, it was huge,'' said Bowyer, who qualified for his inaugural Chase by landing the 12th and final spot in the field and wound up third in the final standings.

``I knew we had gotten close so many times before then and everybody had been saying, `It's your turn, it's your turn.' But to finally see all that play out and to win it in dominant fashion that day, meant a lot to me as a race car driver.''

Bowyer, who leads the Nationwide Series by 122 points over Brad Keselowski, won last year's Sylvania 300 from the pole position after leading 222 laps to capture a $259,175 payday. ``To get my first win, and to do it in the first race of the Chase in my first time being in the Chase, it just got us started off on the right foot, so it meant a lot,'' he said.

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Joey Logano, the 18-year-old wunderkind driver from Middletown, Conn., was introduced yesterday as Tony Stewart's heir apparent next season in the No. 20 Toyota sponsored by Home Depot during a press conference yesterday at Joe Gibbs Racing's shops in Huntersville, N.C. Logano, who won the 2007 Busch East Series champion as a developmental driver for JGR, made his Nationwide Series debut for Gibbs Racing May 31 at Dover, Del., and won his first Nationwide race at Kentucky in just his third series start. Logano will be paired with Stewart's old crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, of Berlin, Conn. ``I couldn't be more excited to be here today and jump into this No. 20 car _ it's been a dream come true,'' said Logano, who will make his Cup debut in the No. 02 Home Depot car next Satursday night at Richmond International Raceway. ``I've always been watching this car and watching Greg Zip and all the guys working [on it], and Tony working on the thing. I couldn't be more excited to get in a car like this, representing Home Depot with over 300,000 associates. I couldn't really ask for anything better.'' . . . Fenway Sports Group, which last February purchased a 50-percent stake in Roush Racing and rebranded it as Roush Fenway Racing, yesterday announced the appointment of Brian Corcoran, who served for the last six years as NASCAR's managing director, corporate marketing, as FSG's executive vice president, business Development & motorsports. Corcoran will oversee day-to-day operations for FSG's NASCAR division, which includes Roush Fenway Racing and Yates Racing. ``FSG is committed to growing Roush Fenway Racing and making it the top team on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit,'' said FSG president Mike Dee in a statement. ``Brian's proven track record of success in building relationships with corporate partners in auto racing makes him the perfect person to help us recruit new sponsors and maintain our competitive edge.''