The maturation of Logano beginning to show for JGR

April 5, 2010

By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
April 5, 2010

For anyone who has ever been a student or a coach, a mentor or been mentored, there are those moments when the light bulb goes on and everyone just gets it.

That's not to mean that all the work is done. In fact, many gifted students and/or their mentors or coaches have made this mistake many times and thus failed to fill their joint potential.

But that, in turn, does not mean that such special moments aren't to be cherished and recognized for what they should become -- significant stepping stones on the way to much greater accomplishments.

So it was with Joey Logano's second-place finish at Martinsville a week ago Monday. To say Logano came out of nowhere to finish second to race winner Denny Hamlin, one of his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, would be a misnomer. Sure, he got there quietly; but he earned it by running a smooth, patient and competitive race throughout the grueling event at the .526-mile short track.

First of all, when Hamlin and their other JGR teammate, Kyle Busch, made the risky gambit to grab fresh tires and give up their own 1-2 track positions on Lap 493 of the scheduled 500-lap event, Logano and his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, elected to stay out.

That in itself proved to be a smart move, much like the move JGR team president J.D. Gibbs and his father, owner Joe Gibbs, initiated two years ago when they elected to pair the talented but extremely young Logano with the veteran Zipadelli. They knew then that it might take some time for the two to mesh, but the pairing is now beginning to pay dividends even as Logano has yet to celebrate his 20th birthday (which will come next month, on May 24).

What happened next

That much was evident during the final laps at Martinsville. Logano made up ground on the restart following the caution during which Hamlin and Busch pitted, then kept coming forward when yet another caution period followed as the unfortunate Busch hit the outside wall, ruining his own chances at a top finish and assuring a green-white-checkered flag finish.

On the final restart, Hamlin started fourth on the outside of Row 2. Logano started fifth on the inside of Row 3.

When others in front of his No. 20 Toyota inevitably started running into each other on the subsequent restart, Logano took advantage of being able to start on the inside line and simply hugged the bottom of the track while punching the gas pedal. He soared all the way up to second as others fought each other off and fell by the wayside.

"Toward the end of the race, it was crazy," Logano admitted. "We knew it was gong to be crazy before it went green. Denny was in the outside row, one lane ahead of me. I knew he'd be coming real hard. He cleared [Ryan] Newman and was forcing his way down. I knew his car was better than mine, that he could out-brake us. I don't know what happened in front of us there [between Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth], but the two cars washed up the track. I was just in the right place at the right time. I was able to restart on the bottom, and that's where you need to be. I just kept filling holes when people were washing up and hitting each other. I was lucky enough not to get hit in the back, just protect the bottom, and was able to come out with a great finish."

Hamlin later chided Logano, ever so gently, for not letting him in more quickly or completely.

"I tried to tell him to let me in," a grinning Hamlin said after the race. "Instead, I had to force my way in."

When it was all over, all parties in the JGR camp -- well, except for Busch, who caused the final caution -- were beyond happy. They were ecstatic.

"It was good to give JGR a 1-2 finish," Logano said. "It was cool for Denny -- and to follow him to Victory Lane."

What it could mean

Through the first five Sprint Cup races of the 2010 season, JGR continues to suffer from a major void on the organization's report card. None of their three cars are within the top 12 in the all-important point standings.

But by virtue of his second-place finish at Martinsville and general overall consistency throughout the early part of the season, Logano is up to 13th, trailing Brian Vickers in 12th by a mere six points, the surprising Paul Menard in 11th by only seven, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 10th by 11.

Both Logano and Hamlin jumped four spots after Martinsville, with Hamlin moving into 15th, while the unlucky Busch fell six to 16th after arguably running one of his own better races.

The gist is that like Logano, the entire JGR group seems to be getting its act together -- and it's a long season. Depending on how Hamlin's left knee reacts to his attempts at a quick return following surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, it could be that Logano and Busch soon are being counted on to carry the bulk of the season's high expectations on their shoulders.

"All of us want it bad," Logano said. "We felt like a few races ago that Joe Gibbs Racing needed a little bit more to keep up with the Hendrick and RCR [Richard Childress Racing cars] that are doing real good right now. We need to find a little bit more."

"We've been having team meetings at the shop going over the last few weeks, [asking ourselves] what do we need to improve on? I think as a team we're doing a better job on that stuff and after the races having a better, more thorough meeting where all of us are able to bounce ideas off each other."

Because he is so receptive to learning from any source that he can, that especially seems to be helping Logano. Although he subsequently felt he "gave one away" in this past Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Nashville, he clearly "had a moment" as American Idol judges like to say at Martinsville. He now appears poised to start putting himself more consistently in position to add to his career total of one victory on the Cup side (last year in a rain-shortened race at New Hampshire).

"[Prior to Martinsville], I was more of a sponge trying to listen to Denny. Between him, Jeff [Gordon] and Jimmie [Johnson], that's pretty much his stomping ground," Logano said. "I was just trying to learn everything I can. I didn't feel like I was that good in practice. ... but it's cool to see all of us improving together.

"This is one of my tougher race tracks that I usually never run good at. So to come home second with a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, I'm pumped up about that. It's a lot more fun when you run up there, I'll tell you that much."

It was a lot more fun for J.D. Gibbs to watch, too, even though he had to endure the pain of watching Busch go from running second to wrecking in the final laps, as well. As it turned out, at least in this case, Busch's loss was Logano's gain. Then again, Logano and Zipadelli put the driver of the No. 20 in position to capitalize.

"This was a big deal for us," J.D. Gibbs said. "For Joey to come home second, to be smooth and consistent at this track, is a real testament."

Hamlin added: "Joey speaks for himself. He just keeps going forward."

And you get the feeling he won't likely stop until he gets much closer to the front in the Cup point standings. Then he might just stay there a while.