Logano will try to capture Brickyard magic in sophomore season

Last year Joey Logano was a wide-eyed rookie, learning the ropes of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series while taking over for two-time Cup champ Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

Before coming to Speedway, Ind., in July of 2009, the rookie was able to take place in a tire test for the race. “To come down the front stretch and have grandstands on either side and feel the bump as you cross the bricks is just cool. That was my first and only time there,” he said.

He was dubbed “Sliced Bread” by many, because he was the next best thing since, but early on in the year his lack of experience in a Cup car showed. He ended up winning the Lenox 301 in New Hampshire that June, and started to look like he had some momentum going into his first trip to the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Logano qualified 18th for his first Indianapolis race, and he kept his nose clean. On the final restart he found himself near Juan Pablo Montoya, who was no doubt peeved after speeding on pit road. Logano actually held his own with Montoya right behind him, and although he surrendered 11th to the former Indy 500 champ before the checkered flag, Logano should consider his 12th place finish a success.

“I just wish we would have started up closer to the front. We were running with the top 10 cars, and we were as fast as anybody on the restarts. In the end, I just started over-driving it and giving it all I had and killed the car,” he said. Logano had to change engines and started from the rear of the 43 car field.

So what does year two hold in store for the youngster who has improved steadily? He’s got one pole and two top fives.

And while the Brickyard 400 is still 20 days away, the 20-year-old Logano is looking to prove that he can hang with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Both Hamlin and Busch have visited Victory Lane this year and Hamlin is tied for the series lead in wins with five victories.

So there’s no doubt he has the power under the hood and he showed last year that he has the patience to make his way into the top ten after a bad start. Does Joey Logano have an opportunity to become the youngest winner in Brickyard 400 history?

If there’s anyone that wants to see a Sprint Cup race in Kentucky more than Bruton Smith it might be Logano who is the three-time defending Nationwide Series champ in Sparta. So in the closest stop to Kentucky that the Sprint Cup Series makes, Logano might just prove that the second time is the charm.

While I don’t think he’ll win, a top five finish isn’t completely out of the question for Logano, who will have crew chief Greg Zipadelli in his ear on raceday. Zipadelli knows how to win at IMS, taking the 2005 and 2007 Brickyard 400s with Tony Stewart behind the wheel of the No. 20 car.

Now it might be Logano’s turn to re-write the record books at Indy. In 20 days we’ll find out if the No. 20 car can return to Victory Lane at Indianpolis.