Joey Logano was ninth quickest in Friday's practice session for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. (Photo Courtesy of Toyota Motorsports)
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And that did wonders for Logano’s spirits in the face of the weather. “That was a big confidence booster,” he said. “You kind of know where you stand and to know that you could come off the trailer and be good, that was a big plus for me mentally.
Like most drivers at RIR, Logano practiced both the race setup and qualifying trim during the practice, and found the race package more to his liking. “I think our race run was really good,” said Logano. “I went out there for our first run and I think we were third at the time. Wally (Brown, crew chief) said, ‘Those were good lap times there.’ I figured we were 15th or 20th probably and he says, ‘You’re third.’ I thought that was cool.”
And the youngster had fun, too. “The Cup car seems to suit my driving style better than the Nationwide car,” said Logano, who has tested Cup cars extensively for JGR. “When I am driving the Nationwide car it seems like there is no horsepower and it is all momentum and you have to hustle those cars a lot to get them going. … I seem to like the Cup car more, but probably because it has more horsepower and it is more fun to me.”
Although he won’t make the Cup race, the consolation for Logano is that he’ll start Sunday night’s
Emerson Radio 250 from the pole, because his No. 20 JGR Toyota Nationwide car is No. 1 in owner points.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
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