Joe Gibbs Racing's Joey Logano learning ropes, gaining ground in Cup ranks

Joey Logano freely admits that he still has a lot to learn about NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.

That didn't dampen the 19-year-old's enthusiasm, however, following his win in Sunday's rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. To Logano, a rookie driver who inherited a championship team in the powerful Joe Gibbs Racing arsenal, this season hasn't always gone as expected or hoped.

Sunday didn't look as if it was going to either, but the teenager and his Greg Zipadelli-led team recovered from an early setback caused by a tire failure that cost them a lap, stayed out as long as they could on fuel and watched as the rains washed away the final 28 laps of the race. That netted Logano his initial Cup win. Adding to the excitement was that it came at the track the native of Middletown, Conn., calls home and the place where he saw his first NASCAR race.

Certainly, winning there made it all the more special.

It may also have given the team a sorely needed boost.

Logano was ushered into the series with great expectations. The 2007 NASCAR Camping World East Series champion had a string of successes in other series prior to entering NASCAR.

Logano ran his first Nationwide race shortly after his 18th birthday last season and quickly showed that the hype surrounding him appeared to be deserved. He won the pole position in his second race and again in his third. That time, he turned it into his first series victory.

Could he work his magic once more this year at the Cup level? Team owner Joe Gibbs and Zipadelli knew it would take some time.

They also believed he could make the leap as he took over the seat left open when two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart left to become part owner of what is now Stewart-Haas Racing.

So as the team endured the somewhat normal rookie setbacks in the past few months, they focused on the positive steps that were being taken.

"It's tough, believe me, it's real tough," Logano says of transitioning to NASCAR's top series. "If you think of last year in the Nationwide Series, yeah, I had some good runs.  Did I run where I thought I needed to? No. I think it just took time.

"Now over there, I think I know what it takes, and over here we are working on it, and, obviously, from what we did in the beginning of the season to now, we are running a lot better. If you look at my first race here last year, was completely opposite of this. It's motivating just to keep seeing yourself getting better and working with Zippy and all of the guys and getting that communication going helps us improve a lot, too."

Zipadelli found it hard to overestimate the value of the win to the team members.

"For us, it was obviously a huge day as a group," he said. "For my guys, to see the smile on their faces in the rain and coming over and high-fiving you. And we brought some new guys on this year that had not been in this situation, you know. It was just awesome to be able to put ourselves in that position. You know, for this team, it's another win.

"We have gone, since we've been in existence, winning every year, and that's one of those little things, but to me, the guys that have been with me, that's something we definitely wanted to accomplish this year, and we were able to do it."

To the team, it didn't matter that the rain that shortened the race played a factor.

After all, they lost this race the same way a year ago when then-driver Stewart led the most laps, pitted and couldn't get back to the front before rain halted the race.

So for the crew, there was a touch of justice in the victory.

For team owner Joe Gibbs, it was just what the team needed.

After winning two championships with Stewart, the group gambled on a rookie driver. They have endured a series of fits and starts. Logano is 21st in the series standings with four top-10 finishes this season.

They took a chance on someone they believed in but who they also felt might need a little time to develop and grow in the series. Their patience was rewarded Sunday.

"Zippy and his team last year, we were going to the race track knowing that they were going to be in the Chase, having a chance to win the championship," Gibbs said. "And this year, their mindset, that's been great. They know that Joey is young, fighting their guts out for every spot they can get. They have been a great support for Joey. I thought they fought it hard all year, and it was great to see them have a chance to get this.

"So we know today we were fortunate, and we know that there will probably be some tough days out there for us, but [we’re] absolutely thrilled for Joey and his family, and for us, all of us at Joe Gibbs Racing. We figure we can keep this going, ride this thing for about 20 years."

Logano certainly hopes so. Saturday, he was disappointed to finish second to teammate Kyle Busch in the Nationwide Series race. Sunday, fortune turned in his favor, and he found himself celebrating a win he thought he had lost all shot at when an earlier tire failure cost him a lap.

For Logano, a driver with just 20 career Cup starts to his credit, that was just part of the sport.

He may still be learning about the nuances of the Cup car and managing a race, but Logano already has a handle on just how fickle NASCAR racing can be.

"I figured out that this sport is a roller coaster earlier this season," he says. "I go up and down, up and down, up and down. And that is part of this sport. One week you can win, and the next week you can be 43rd, and it's just like that. I've figured out in other series that it's tough. This is obviously the toughest thing that I've ever done in my career, but after [Saturday], yeah, I was bummed out [that we] finished second.

"But today, this is cool. This is where I watched my first Cup race and where I ran my first Cup race and where I won my first Cup race, so I could not have picked a better place [to win]."