Crate 602 sportsman racer Logan Watt expressed joy with his trademark victory lane jump after his most recent win. It came in Short Track Super Series competition, the Dirty Jersey event at New Egypt Speedway.
“The win made me feel levitated,” Watt, of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, said. “The race is a tough one to win, and its name is so cool. It’s going to be great having a check on the wall saying I won the ‘Dirty Jersey.’”
Surprisingly, Watt didn’t come into the race with high expectations.
“It was my only my second time driving at New Egypt Speedway,” said Watt. “I thought I would not be able to win there. Last year, I was not familiar with the track. I did not have a lot of notes gathered from last year to rely on for this year.”
New Egypt Speedway is known to be one of the more technical tracks on the Short Track Super Series circuit.
“You have sweeping corners on turn one and two, where it’s flat-out racing,” Watt said. “Turns three and four are pinched corners, where there is some lifting and braking. Being good at both ends is key to winning.”
Watt seemed to strike the right balance and be good at both. He started the feature in fourth. Watt assumed the lead on the first lap, after drag racing Ethan Bill down the backstraight. Bill tried to slide job Watt on a restart to take the lead back, but Watt quickly crossed him back, leading every lap after the green flag.
The win at New Egypt Speedway marks the sixth for Watt in crate 602 sportsman competition in the Short Track Super Series. He’s two victories away from tying the record held by Tim Hartman. However, the victory at New Egypt isn’t just another one for Logan Watt. It holds special meaning.
“I was a little kid playing in the playground when my dad [Ryan Watt] was racing there,” said Watt. “Now I am a feature winner — it’s a dream come true. It is extra special that both my dad and I have each won a Dirty Jersey feature — five years apart.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
