Getty Joey Logano prepares for a race at Pocono.
Prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Team Penske’s Joey Logano made a special trip to his old stomping grounds. He headed to the Silver City Quarter Midget Club racetrack in Meriden, Conn. Logano revisited his racing history, cut the ribbon, and shared his love of quarter midgets with his son.
Logano posted a video of the special day on Twitter, showing himself with his son Hudson as they took some walking laps around the track. He then unloaded the quarter midget race car that he actually drove as a child and set Hudson up for his first-ever laps around the track.
Special moment this past week when we stopped by the @SilverCityQma race track in Meriden, CT. Amazing to relive so many childhood racing memories, help refresh and update the track and see Hudson drive my original race car for the first time. Great times!
As Logano explained at the event, he did not have to do much to get his original quarter midget race car running again. He told NBC Connecticut that they just needed to get the brakes working and put some new tires on the race car before Hudson headed out for his first laps.
“I remember being in that pole barn waiting to go start my race,” Logano told the outlet. “You know you’re in there, you’re strapped in and your dad pushes you off onto the racetrack. All those memories come flying back to you. You see your car, your kid in there, your feelings are, ‘I’m really nervous.’ Gosh, I just don’t want him to hit something.”
Logano Helped Revitalize the Track Before the Special Ceremony
News surfaced in late April that the 2018 Cup Series champion had pledged to pay for the re-grading and asphalt resurfacing at the Meriden track. There was no concrete information about the cost of the renovations, but the Silver City Quarter Midget Club secretary said that it would be “at least $85,000.”
The track desperately needed renovations considering that the last repave took place in 1975. Arute Brothers Inc. laid a layer of asphalt, which remained until Logano and other donors made the work possible. According to the “New Britain Herald,” the club had used quick-fix asphalt kits to make repairs over the years but still had to pull weeds out before races.
Several other donors and companies joined forces with Logano and the Joey Logano Foundation to make the renovations happen. LaRosa Construction Co. Inc. conducted the work at a reduced cost while Tilcon-Connecticut of New Britain and L. Suzio York Hill donated asphalt. Manafort Brothers Inc. donated the re-milling of the asphalt.
The Meriden Track Has Helped Multiple Drivers Pursue Racing Careers
GettyRyan Preece and wife Heather celebrate a Truck Series win at Nashville.
Given that he has won a Cup Series championship during his NASCAR career, Logano is the most famous alumni of the Silver City Quarter Midget Club racetrack. However, he is not the only driver to rise to prominence after racing around the track.
Ryan Preece, who currently races for JTG Daugherty Racing, also spent time at the quarter-mile club during the 1990s. He continued to race throughout his life and ultimately worked his way up to the Cup Series. The driver of the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro has not won at NASCAR’s top level, but he has two trips to Victory Lane in the Xfinity Series. He also won his first-ever Truck Series start, which took place at Nashville Superspeedway on June 18, 2021.
Similarly, World of Outlaws racer David Gravel spent time at the track during his youth and racked up more than 50 wins in quarter midget race cars. Now in his first year with Big Game Motorsports, Gravel is one of the biggest names in the World of Outlaws. He finished second in the team championship standings in 2020 while driving for Jason Johnson Racing. This followed a 2019 season in which he won 12 times. According to the World of Outlaws, Gravel has 64 wins in more than 600 starts.
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Joey Logano Revisits Racing History With Special Trip to Meriden [WATCH]