Team Penske driver Joey Logano was treated to an unusual surprise before this weekend’s GEICO 500 race at Talladega. The tri-oval superspeedway track has been a rewarding venue for the Penske star in the past, back when parity racing didn’t exist. His last win at Talladega came in 2018, and since then he has struggled to be back in the victory lane.

Trying to draw inspiration from his last victorious run, Logano went to his trophy cabinet in search of the winning trophy from 2018. What he discovered blew his mind. This made up for a funny story, which the driver decided to share online via his X account.

NASCAR failed to get Joey Logano’s name right on his replica trophy

Most NASCAR drivers get to take home their winning trophies after the race. However, Team Penske likes to follow in the footsteps of FIFA by withholding the original while distributing the replicas. A similar scene unfolded when Logano won his third race at Talladega, but little did he know that NASCAR had made a big blunder regarding his spelling on the trophy.

The 33-year-old took to X and explained the big goof-up on NASCAR’s part. “I always get a replica of it right, the second trophy, and we’re in the process of moving. So when they shipped it to me, I just kept it all wrapped because I don’t want it to be banged up while removing. Well, I recently opened it and realized they spelled my name wrong. Lagano, that’s not how they spell it, so maybe I can win another one and they can spell my name right this time.”

Coincidentally, the win in 2018 also came after a long winless drought for the driver. Given that he is in a similar situation, he can repeat his past heroics and get the first breakthrough win of the season. It has to be noted that none of the Ford drivers have been to victory lane since the start of the season. So it further puts more pressure on Logano and Team Penske to deliver the goods this weekend.

The stage is set for the Ford team to go out and make a statement win at Talladega this Sunday. And if they needed a change in the dynamics of racing, they couldn’t have asked for a better solution than going back to superspeedway racing.

Ford Mustang Dark Horse will make its pace car debut at Talladega

Army General Daniel R. Hokanson and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Mark Martin have been named the honorary guests for the GEICO 500 race. Hokanson will deliver the famous command, while Martin will get the race underway with the wave of the green flag. Adding to the festivities on the day, the Alabama Air National Guard will perform a flyover after the end of the national anthem.

This also marks a special day for Ford, as their new creation, Mustang Dark Horse, will serve as the pace car for the event. “I think the Ford Performance group has done a great job getting the car ready for this season, and hopefully we can end Mustang Week on a good note by winning on Sunday,” Ryan Blaney said in a press release via Ford Performance.

The Fords were lightning-fast early in the season, sweeping front-row starts on the back of strong qualifiers. However, they somehow failed to convert those good superspeedway runs into wins, and that is exactly what they need to work on ahead of Sunday’s race.