Young Logano likes Darlington

Associated Press

FLORENCE, S.C.

Joey Logano has even bigger plans for Darlington Raceway this year.

The 19-year-old didn’t know what to expect at the track called “Too Tough to Tame.”

Instead, Logano left NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway after leading 19 laps, matching his best-ever Sprint Cup finish and gaining a boost of confidence that carried him to a rookie of the year season.

“I think it did a ton” for the rest of his year, Logano said. “This was a place we didn’t think we’d do good and we had a shot at winning.”

At the time, his No. 20 JGR Toyota had struggled to stay among the top 35 in points as the NASCAR nation wondered if Logano was too young to fill the seat of two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart.

“It was bad,” he said with a smile.

Logano toured the raceway last spring with one of its all-time masters, Cale Yarborough — a five-time winner of the Southern 500. Something must have clicked because he led the race with fewer than 100 miles left.

Logano said his team made the smart, safe play not to gamble for the win and leave with a solid top-10 performance.

This time, Logano’s anxious for more.

“I think it’d be different if we were put in the same scenario,” he said. “I think we would go for it this time.”