RICHMOND, Va.–On the verge of making the Chase for the first time in his career, Joey Logano will do his best to accentuate the positive in Saturday night’s race.
Logano is only too aware that thinking about what might go wrong can lead to costly mistakes. Accordingly, he’ll do his best to keep his mind off the possible negatives.
“Obviously, you think about that stuff because you’re a little nervous about it,” said Logano, who is eighth in the standings, 16 points ahead of Jeff Gordon in 11th. “Hopefully, the motor holds together, hopefully the tires don’t blow out, and hopefully I don’t make a mistake. Really, is that going to make my race car go any faster, thinking about that stuff? No.
“As a whole team, as a tire carrier, stud the tire perfectly. If you’re the crew chief calling the race, that’s all you have to think about. If you’re the driver, think about making the car go as fast as it possibly can. When you start thinking about all the things that can go wrong, that’s when something is going to go wrong, because that’s when your mind is not in the right spot.
“So, mentally, we have to be tough this weekend.”
Logano will roll off eighth Saturday night.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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