Joey Logano matures into veteran racer

DURING THE TESTING session earlier this month at Dover International Speedway, Joey Logano was asked what his team was learning. Smiling, Logano replied, "I can't tell you our secrets."

Later, referring to the annual Dover-Pocono softball game, Logano laughed and said, "You should see me play second base. They call me 'Joey Doubleplay.' "

One pleasure of this job is seeing people mature and develop. At age 18, Logano was rushed into the Sprint Cup series a year ahead of schedule when Tony Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing. He needed several years to get comfortable in the Sprint Cup series.

Last year, driving the No. 22 Ford for Penske Racing, he fulfilled his potential, winning five races and finishing fourth in the Chase.

Logano, 25, enters Sunday's FedEx400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover third in points, with one victory (Daytona 500) and the most pole positions (four).

Logano is now comfortable appearing regularly on television shows such as "NASCAR Race Hub" on Fox. Although he is older and married, he is still almost entirely focused on racing. When he played in the Dover-Pocono softball game last month, he said it was the first time he'd played in a ballgame.

"I really like racing," the Connecticut native said. "I enjoy doing other things, but 100 percent of my focus is into what I do."

Explaining his success since joining Penske, Logano said a lot of it is "understanding what makes a race car go fast, and having people around you that give me the car the way I want to drive it."

While Logano has not won at Dover in 12 starts (three top-five finishes), the blinking-fast track is memorable to him for the race in September 2009 when his car was struck by another car, flipped over at least eight times and tumbled down the frontstretch. He wasn't injured. Talk about a teenager's thrill . . .

Logano said he thinks about the crash only when he's reminded of it.

"That's a question I get a lot when I go there," he said. "It's been a while ago now, but it is always funny, because I remember the next year I went there, the front of the program had one of those things that, when you move the cover, it changes the picture. They had the Monster with my car in its hand, and when you moved it, they had the Monster slamming my car in the racetrack. I was like, 'Wow, that's a heck of a welcome back here. Thanks, Dover. Appreciate it.'

"It's something that every time you go there, they'll put it on the highlight reel, and they'll replay before it the race, but it's just a crash. It's not a big deal.

"Dover is one of my favorite racetracks. It's very demanding, very intense. You can't afford to make mistakes. When you're done every lap, you're huffing and puffing [from the changing elevations]."

Assessing his season thus far, Logano said: "It's been OK. We obviously started off on a great note. We've had a lot of top-five finishes since then, but we don't have another win on the Cup side, so we want to get some more wins. We feel like we're a little bit off on speed. We're not far off. We're consistently a top-five car, but we need to consistently be a first-place car, and that's our goal."

Having one win and standing third in points virtually guarantees Logano a return to the Chase. His team's goal is to continue improving.

"You have to keep building momentum," he said. "I realize it is a lot more fun running up front than it is in the back. We want to keep racing hard and show we deserve to be in it. It makes you feel better and more comfortable when you have a win. When you have a crash, it doesn't hurt as bad. [Our plan is] just keep on racing hard and being aggressive like we do. That is what this team does best, attack."

A special seat in the Dover grandstands will be dedicated Sunday as part of the POW/MIA National Chair of Honor "One Empty Seat" program. "One Empty Seat" was created to help recognize and honor the more than 92,000 American soldiers who are unaccounted for since World War I.

A commemorative stand and plaque are mounted in Section 103, Row 1, near the start/finish line in front of the empty chair. Before the race, Lt. Col. Len Gratteri, of the Delaware Air National Guard, will unveil this memorial in honor of his uncle, Pfc. John Straley, who has been missing in action since January 1964. Also, the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group will participate in a prerace ceremonial parade lap that will feature approximately 150 motorcycles.