Joey Logano leads the Joe Gibbs Racing stable heading into Atlanta race
Joey Logano is eighth in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series point standings after three races, best among the three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. // Bambi Mattila, NASCAR Illustrated
HAMPTON, Ga. – Joey Logano ranks highest among Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series point standings, but he can’t start bragging just yet. For now, the 19-year-old driver is just happy to sit eighth in points.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are 12th and 22nd in points, respectively, three races into the 2010 season.
“I’m pretty pumped up,” Logano said Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “Like I said, last year at this point, we weren’t looking good at all. I’m pretty excited about what we did good the last couple of weeks and we’re the highest Joe Gibbs Racing car right now. That’s pretty exciting for me. At the same time, we can’t just be settling with that.
“We have got to keep pushing and try to stay up where we’re at right now. This week is going to be a big test for us.”
It took Logano about half the season during his rookie year to just get comfortable in the car, and now that he is going to tracks for the second and third time, he is feeling much more at ease entering the Kobalt Tools 500 today at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
AMS has not been the most kind to Logano, where he has finishes of 30th and 22nd. He went out first in qualifying on Friday and, with the sun in his eyes, qualified a disappointing 29th.
“In the past, this race track has been kind of tough for me,” Logano said. “I feel like we’re getting closer and closer though as we keep going here. Hopefully, we get the momentum from the last couple weeks and … plug around here pretty good.”
After last year’s first three races, Logano was 32nd in points and rumors began swirling that he might be out of a ride.
“The progression has come along a lot, for sure,” Logano said. “Compared to last year, we were 30-something in points and now we’re eighth. This is pretty cool. I’m pretty excited about where we’re at right now in points. As far as me getting used to these cars, me and Zip [crew chief Greg Zipadelli] working good together, we’re really plugging along here lately.”
Working well with Zipadelli and just understanding his own needs in the car and how it should feel has made a big difference for Logano, whose progression into Cup was accelerated by a year when Tony Stewart opted to leave Joe Gibbs Racing following the 2008 season.
“It’s all about information,” Busch said about Logano. “It’s all about telling your crew chief what you need and what the car has done for you or what you need it to do differently. Joey has done a great job and obviously he’s leading the team right now with the good finishes and leading the point standings for the JGR drivers.
“I’m real proud of him. And I think that if he just keeps it going and keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s got a great leader with Greg Zipadelli. I’d like to say that Denny and I are good teammates and that we’ve been able to help him and get him to where he’s at, but he’s got to be the guy that gets himself better. So he’s done a good job.”
