Joey Logano making big strides in second season

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There was nowhere to go but up this season for Joey Logano, who had a roller-coaster rookie season as the youngest driver at NASCAR’s top level.

He bounced off the walls at Daytona and barrel-rolled his car at Dover. He struggled with setups, didn’t understand the language his teammates used to describe their cars and often dreaded going to the track.

That he finished the year with one victory, seven top-10s and a 20th-place finish in the final standings was nothing short of a small miracle.

“There were a lot of weekends last year where we were in nothing more than survival mode,” crew chief Greg Zipadelli said.

So Logano’s solid start to his second season has not been lost on anyone. That 43rd-place finish in his inaugural Daytona 500 was improved to a 20th-place this year. And he was 26th last season at California, but upgraded that last week to fifth.

It took Logano 17 races last season to notch his first top-five.

Much of it is credited to just how much Logano, now 19, learned over that rocky first year. But there’s also a new confidence that comes with the teenager getting comfortable in NASCAR.

“I feel more excited to come to the race tracks,” he said. “Last year, oh boy, California, we stunk there. I didn’t know if I wanted to go there. Now, you look at these places and you’re excited to go back to the race track because you think you’re going to have a good race car. We’re going to be good.”

Logano came to Las Vegas Speedway ranked ninth in the Sprint Cup standings, higher than teammates Kyle Busch (13th) and Denny Hamlin (22nd).

“I think it’s cool,” Logano said. “I was excited, ninth in points. Last year I would have been happy with 20th in points at this point in the season, so ninth is cool. I was joking around because I wished they’d start the Chase now. But we still have a long ways to go.”

First up is today’s race, where Logano will start sixth. Logano isn’t thinking about a win. Those come every day, away from Victory Lane, in the gains he makes with his No. 20 team.

Zipadelli can see the difference, not in on-track results, but in how Logano communicates in the car and a sense of relaxation that didn’t exist last year.