So What Does "Sliced Bread" really mean?
Everyone uses it. Everyone eats it. Everyone has said it. Everyone knows it’s true.
“The best thing since sliced bread.”
The phrase has plenty of meaning. But in the racing world, it’s meaning it something totally different these days.
The origins are well known. In July 1928, Iowa inventor Otto Rohwedder convinced the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri to start selling sliced bread using his new invention called the Rohwedder Bread Slicer. It would make eating, using and generally enjoying a loaf of bread that much easier and nice.
Soon enough, the saying, “the best thing since sliced bread,” quickly followed and has been an expression used by advertisers for decades.
Some 80 years later, “Sliced Bread” still happens to be grabbing plenty of headlines. This time, though, it has nothing to do with flour and yeast products, but rather the nickname given to 18-year-old NASCAR Nationwide Series rookie phenom Joey Logano.
Where did the nickname “Sliced Bread” actually come from?
“It actually came from (two-time NASCAR Busch Series Champion) Randy LaJoie,” said Logano. “I came walking in his shop one day and he said ‘hey, Sliced Bread.’
“I asked him what that meant, and he said, ‘You’re the best thing since sliced bread.’ I said back to him, ‘Whatever.’ From there, we kind of joked about it forever and even made up a cartoon logo and it stuck. It’s really funny.
“All my friends have nicknames, like Brandon McReynolds is called ‘The Franchise,’ and Cory LaJoie (Randy’s son) is called ‘Super Shoe.’ It started out as a funny nickname and somehow it stuck.”
Stuck it did. Joey soon started putting the name on his helmet to keep the inside joke going. He then signed up to race in online leagues with the name “Sliced Bread.”
Does The Name Fit?
Some of Joey's Career-Titles
1997 - Eastern Grand National Champion and Regional Champion
Quarter Midget (Jr. Stock Series) - Age: 7
1998 - Eastern Grand National Champion and Regional Champion
Quarter Midge (Jr. Honda) - Age: 8
1998 - Eastern Grand National Champion and Regional Champion
Quarter Midget - Age: 9
1999 - INEX Bandolero Grand National Champion - Age: 9
1999 - Track Championships at Lowe's Motor Speedway Summer Shootout & Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday Thunder
1999 - Semi Pro INEX Legends Series Champion at Atlanta Motor Speedway - Thursday Thunder
2000 - INEX Young Lion Legends Series National Champion - Age 12
2000 - INEX PRO Legends Series National Champion - Age l2 (the youngest ever)
2005 - Hooters USAR Pro Cup Series - Won at age 15 (the youngest ever)
2007 - Busch East Series - Rookie of the year & Champion at age 17 (the youngest ever)
2009 - NASCAR Nationwide Series - won in third race (the youngest NNWS ever)
2009 - Sprint Cup Series - at age 18, making him the youngest to start the Daytona
