DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two flirtations with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and the continuing strength of the Team Penske organization over the past two years have only intensified Joey Logano’s desire to win a first title in the series.
To win, though, he’ll have to avoid the sorts of pitfalls that have derailed him. In 2014, a pit road snafu ruined his chances in the Championship Round race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Last year, a feud with Matt Kenseth culminating in a wreck at Martinsville knocked Logano out of the Chase in the Round of 8.
“The last two years have been career seasons for me,” Logano said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “I feel like we had two championship seasons without a trophy. We have a lot of confidence. We know what it takes to win this whole thing. We have been right on that edge. Arguably, with the most wins last year (six), we should have been there but that’s the way the format is, and that’s the way we play it, and it is what it is.
“I feel like I learned a lot as a driver the last few years and what I need to do to make it happen. I feel like I’ve found new levels as a driver to reach. I know I am a silver linings person, but I feel like that’s something you have to have, that confidence and not get beat down. I feel like there’s nothing to hold our heads down about. We’ve had two great seasons.”
This past season included a victory in the Daytona 500, but Logano will have to buck the odds to win back-to-back editions of the Great American Race. The last driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s was Sterling Marlin in 1994 and 1995.
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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