DOVER, Del. (AP) — Joey Logano’s first NASCAR Cup Series start -- before he would drive for heavyweight owners such as Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske — came in New Hampshire for a short-lived team called Hall of Fame racing.
Set to make his 600th career start, the youngest driver in NASCAR history to reach that milestone, the 35-year-old Logano has constructed a Hall of Fame career.
Take a look at the resume: three career NASCAR championships, a Daytona 500 victory, the youngest driver to win a Cup race, 37 career victories, and seemingly tethered to the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske for as long as he can race.
“At first glance, I said, ‘Well, it’s just starts,‘” Logano said. “But then when you start thinking about it, to be able to be around in a sport as an athlete competing at a top level for 16-plus years, and hitting 600 starts, it’s pretty incredible to have a career that long.”
Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He’ll top seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months. Consider, only three previous drivers among the 33 others in NASCAR history were in their 30s when they hit 600 starts.
Logano has also topped the massive expectations set for him when he entered the sport as a teenager hyped as NASCAR’s next great driver. He entered NASCAR with the nickname “Sliced Bread,” as in, the best thing since, and navigated a slow start to his career to blossom into one of the best over the last 13 years at Team Penske.
He’s now married with three kids — his Instagram bio notes he’s a “3X NASCAR Champion” and “3X father” — and is considered a team leader at Penske and Ford.
“I grew up in front of everybody. All of us change over the years as you grow up,” Logano said. “Life comes at you and you evolve and keep going with it. Everybody, when you were 18 years old to 35 years old are some of the biggest changes in your life happen in that period of time. Getting married, having kids — that’s the biggest change you can ever have in your life, I think — but I did all of this in front of everybody.”
Logano qualified for his first career Cup start on Sept. 14, 2008, at New Hampshire on car owner points, because rain washed out qualifying. He started 40th and was penalized only 39 laps into the race for taking the jack with him as he exited pit road. He finished three laps down in 32nd place in the No. 96 Toyota for Hall of Fame Racing, essentially on loan from Joe Gibbs Racing to get some experience. The two teams even agreed to move JGR’s Home Depot sponsorship to Hall of Fame’s car for the 18-year-old Logano’s first race.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal making my first start,” Logano said that first day. “I was ready to go as soon as we started.”
He wasn’t necessarily ready for the big time.
Logano was pegged with enormous expectations to replace Hall of Famer and three-time champion Tony Stewart in 2009 for Gibbs.
Just a teenager, the enormity of the ride combined with Gibbs’ impatience made for a brief run at JGR. Logano did win his first race — also at New Hampshire, in 2009 — but won only one more time before Gibbs cut him loose after the 2012 season.
The timing worked out for Logano.
Penske needed a driver and 2012 NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski urged his boss to sign the 23-year-old Logano, convinced a change of scenery could do wonders for his career.
Logano made the most of his Penske lifeline and is now the only active three-time champion in NASCAR and one of only 10 drivers in history to win three or more titles.
He spent the week headed into Dover — where he flipped eight times on the concrete track during a scary 2009 incident in a second-tier race — hobnobbing with the sports world's brightest stars at the ESPYs and he got to yuk it up with guest host Jelly Roll on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Petty is the only driver to win his 600th career start and he would make 1,184 overall in Cup, one of many NASCAR records he holds. Logano might not catch The King in total starts — but the driver who has never missed a race over his full-time career is in no rush to slow down.
“I would be an idiot to think you can be competing at the top level into your 50s,” Logano said. “What athlete has ever done that? Something changes at some point, but, right now, I still feel as fresh as ever. I feel as sharp as ever. I’m driven as much as ever. I still care. I still get emotional about things, so that shows me I care a lot. With those factors still there when the end is, I don’t know yet. I don’t know.”
NASCAR is down to its version of the final four.
The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner pits Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek and Tyler Reddick vs. Ty Gibbs in the head-to-head challenge at Dover.
The winners face off next week at Indianapolis. Reddick is the betting favorite to win it all, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
“Did John Hunter change his name yet,” Reddick quipped.
Nemechek has a career-best six top-10s and is 20th in the standings in his second full season at Legacy Motor Club. Nemechek — who drives for Jimmie Johnson, who won a record 11 times at Dover — enjoyed trash-talking Dillon this week from, of all places, the carpool lane.
Their young children go to the same school, and the families have become friendly.
“The running joke between us is that they are boyfriend-girlfriend and they’re going to get married one day, the way that they walk around the racetrack,” Nemechek said.
Hey, maybe a $1 million could help pay for the big day.
NASCAR seeded 32 drivers for the first In-season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament that mirrors the NCAA basketball tournaments.
“I think it’s really cool from a millennial perspective, from a younger generation, it’s neat to be able to bring something in the sport that hasn’t been done before,” the 28-year-old Nemechek said. “It kind of gives you something to race for even if you’re not racing for the win.”
Legacy has yet to win a race, or even contend in many, since Johnson signed on at the end of 2022 and eventually became majority owner. Nemechek said Johnson has balanced many roles, that includes the occasional race, and was committed to making Legacy a championship team.
“We joke around about his legacy 2.0 being a team owner and hopefully we can go in and win 83 races and seven championships for him,” Nemechek said.
Denny Hamlin is the betting favorite to win at Dover, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Hamlin has two career wins at Dover, including last season. He’s trying to win the first July race at Dover since the track’s first one in 1969.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Joey Logano, left, drives while followed by driver Austin Cindric during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Sonoma, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Joey Logano, left, and Brooks Nader stand on stage at the ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
HAMBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 22, 2025--
XCharge is cooperating in testing with EnBW on their fast-charging-network, the EnBW HyperNet in Germany. Since August 2025, EnBW has deployed one charger to complement a location near Stuttgart. Now, an important step in the collaboration was made and a field test with 10 charging stations at four different locations has started. The test includes two XCharge units at EnBW’s site in EnBW City in Stuttgart and three other sites; Rutesheim, Karlsruhe (Durlach Center), and Karlsruhe central train station.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251222014170/en/
EnBW operates Germany’s largest high-power charging network with over 8,000 fast-charging points. EnBW is continuously testing hardware and software solutions for fast charging, including products from XCharge.
Over the past year, EnBW has conducted lab and field trials of XCharge’s technology. The initial results have been promising: “ XCharge has shown good capability across technology, service, data protection, and software, and has met our requirements throughout the evaluation process,” explains Volker Rimpler, Chief Technology Officer E-Mobility at EnBW. “ We have analyzed several thousand charging processes in the laboratory and continuously developed the hardware and software based on this.”
From XCharge’s perspective, the collaboration represents a major milestone. Albina Iljasov, Head of Europe at XCharge states: “ Germany remains a key market for us, and we continue to expand our presence here. Working with EnBW, the largest Charge Point Operator in Germany, demonstrates that our technology meets the high standards of the country’s leading fast-charging network. This collaboration in the current testing phase allows us to contribute to the further development and expansion of reliable high-power charging infrastructure in Germany.”
Technical strengths of XCharge chargers
The chargers under test rely on XCharge’s advanced DC fast-charging technology. The C7 Ultra-Fast Charger delivers up to 400 kW at a maximum of 600 A, enabling shorter charging times. It features dual CCS connectors, a user-friendly touchscreen interface, and a compact, modular design that simplifies installation and maintenance. Optional liquid- or air-cooled cables allow flexible operation under high load, while legal-for-billing certification ensures compliance with measurement regulations in public networks.
With dual headquarters in Hamburg and Texas, XCharge sees this testing cooperation with Germany’s leading energy provider as an important step. The strong performance of C7 chargers in EnBW’s evaluations confirms their suitability for reliable, high-quality applications that meet European requirements and support the expansion of the charging infrastructure.
E-mobility at EnBW
With over 30,000 employees, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG is one of the largest energy companies in Germany and Europe, supplying around 5.5 million customers with electricity, gas, and water, as well as energy solutions and energy management services. In the field of e-mobility, EnBW has developed into a market leader in recent years and, as a full-service provider, covers the entire spectrum with its subsidiaries: from electricity generation from renewable energy sources to the construction, expansion, and operation of charging infrastructure to digital solutions for consumers. Netze BW, an independent EnBW subsidiary, also ensures the safe operation of distribution networks. As one of the German market leaders for home storage and photovoltaic systems, the company also combines solar, storage, and electricity cloud solutions with electric mobility offerings to create a complete energy ecosystem for its customers.
The EnBW HyperNet® offers drivers access to more than 900,000 charging points in Europe. The EnBW mobility+ app always finds the nearest charging option wherever you are. Drivers can also pay conveniently and contactless via the app. After a one-time registration, customers can simply connect their vehicle to most of EnBW's own fast charging points and start charging right away. Transparent prices per kilowatt hour apply at all charging points in the EnBW HyperNet.
The energy company operates Germany's largest fast-charging network and is consistently expanding the EnBW HyperNet in line with demand. Through the SMATRICS EnBW joint venture, it also operates the largest fast-charging network in Austria and is vigorously expanding the nationwide charging infrastructure there as well.
About XCharge
XCharge (NASDAQ: XCH), founded in 2015, is an integrated EV charging and energy solutions company. With dual headquarters in Hamburg, Germany and Austin, Texas, the Company offers comprehensive EV charging solutions, which primarily include the DC fast chargers and the advanced battery-integrated DC fast chargers as well as its accompanying services. Through the combination of XCharge’s proprietary charging technology, energy storage system technology and accompanying services, the Company enhances EV charging efficiency and unlocks the value of energy storage and management. Committed to providing innovative and efficient EV charging solutions, XCharge is actively working toward establishing a global green future that is critical to long-term growth and development.
About XCharge Europe GmbH
XCharge Europe GmbH is a provider of high-power and battery-integrated charging solutions. Headquartered in Hamburg since 2017, XCharge Europe GmbH supports industry leaders with innovative charging solutions and reliable after-sales service. With the addition of a new test lab in Hamburg in 2024, alongside the new Madrid technical center, XCharge Europe GmbH reinforces its commitment to the European market, enabling rigorous product testing, tailored solutions, and the advancement of e-mobility across the region.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding the company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "objective," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to," or other similar expressions. For further information about these and other risks, uncertainties, or factors, please refer to XCHG Limited's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release speaks as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update such information, except as required by applicable law.
Source: EnBW
