Still getting acclimated, but getting better

Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Joey Logano's introduction to NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series this season has been a wild roller-coaster ride.

He's seen highs: Earning his first career win at New Hampshire in June's rain-shortened race.

He's seen lows: Starting the year with six finishes of 26th or worse in the first seven races.

He's been to the valley: Riding it out as his No. 20 Toyota rolled seven times in a wreck at Dover, Del.

And he's been to the mountaintop: Standing toe-to-toe with the 7-foot, 475-pound professional wrestler The Big Show in a live appearance on WWE's "Monday Night Raw."

Through it all, the 19-year-old from Middletown, Conn., has maintained his jovial, enthusiastic attitude. Most importantly – for his career on the track – he has continued to improve.

"It's been ups and downs. It's not easy. There have been good parts of it, and there've been bad parts, too,” Logano said. “It's hard this year, because all of these teams are so close, everywhere we go.”

While he may already have the rookie-of-the-year title sewn up, Logano is still showing progress.

He has three top-five finishes this season and two have come in the past three races – a fifth at Charlotte and third last weekend at Talladega, Ala.

On return trips to tracks he's already visited – such as those at Talladega, Charlotte and Martinsville, Va. – he has shown significant improvement the second time around.

"It's a lot of little things that all add up. Getting used to these Sprint Cup cars is what's taking the longest," Logano said.

"Then you have to get used to every track you go to, and it's a different feel for every race track, so it takes time and laps."

While the competition on the Cup side has been inconsistent – until recently – Logano has made the most of his part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series this season.

He has five wins and 12 top-five finishes in 20 races. Twice – at Kentucky and California – he has won from the pole.

Logano's crew chief on the Nationwide side, Dave Rogers – who will begin work as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch's crew chief on the Cup side this weekend at Texas – said the team takes a no-holds-barred approach.

"We're not points racing, we're here to win, so we were throwing the kitchen sink at it," he said. "We're throwing a 'hail Mary' every single pit stop."

As much as Logano has had to work on his patience on the Cup side, particularly with the 400- and 500-mile races, he is still finds himself an anxious beginner at times.

He admits that a good pep talk helps his prerace preparation.

"That's something that goes a long way for me," he said. "You pump me up, I go."

And then there's the arrival each weekend at the track.

"You just want to get it out there, figure out where you're at and get a feel for it as quick as you can," he said. "Then you give the best information you can to your crew chief and try to make it the best car you can.

"That's pretty much what's typical for me, just trying to remember everything you can about the place and get out and do your job."

Although he still has three Cup races remaining with a yellow rookie stripe attached to his rear bumper, it appears to be the last reminder that he is a newcomer to the series.

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