When Kentucky Speedway announced last August that the Sprint Cup Series was (finally) coming to Sparta, I made one (not so) bold prediction.
Joey Logano is the favorite to win the Cup Series race. (Read it here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2010/08/opinions-on-kentucky-speedway-hosting.html)
I mean, at the very least, it’s hard to bet against the 21-year-old Middletown, Conn., native—who hasn’t done anything less than sit on the pole and win the past three 300-mile Nationwide Series events at Kentucky—in this year’s “Feed the Children 300,” Nationwide race. I’d say he’s the odds on favorite to win that race this year.
“I’m undefeated here,” Logano said on Wednesday. “I actually won a legends race here when I was 12. I think I was 12 years old and I won that too, so I’m batting 1,000 here.
Joey Logano is the favorite to win the Cup Series race. (Read it here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2010/08/opinions-on-kentucky-speedway-hosting.html)
I mean, at the very least, it’s hard to bet against the 21-year-old Middletown, Conn., native—who hasn’t done anything less than sit on the pole and win the past three 300-mile Nationwide Series events at Kentucky—in this year’s “Feed the Children 300,” Nationwide race. I’d say he’s the odds on favorite to win that race this year.
“I’m undefeated here,” Logano said on Wednesday. “I actually won a legends race here when I was 12. I think I was 12 years old and I won that too, so I’m batting 1,000 here.
Logano speaks to assembled media members at Wednesday's Goodyear tire test at Kentucky
“I want to keep that going.”
Greg Biffle agrees.
“I‘ve seen him run well here. I’ve watched him on TV run well here,” Biffle said. “It’s one of those things that if you like the racetrack and it suits your driving style—and let’s face it, those Gibbs Nationwide cars won everything in sight, so that doesn’t hurt you on your chances—but it just suits his driving style.”
Kentucky might be new to the Cup Series, but Logano, along with Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, all ran in last year’s Meijer 300 Nationwide race at Kentucky. Does that gie them an advantage over the Cup guys like A.J. Allmendinger, who last tested at Kentucky in 2007?
A few weeks ago Allmendinger sat in the media center at Kentucky in the same place Logano and Biffle sat yesterday, and said it might provide those guys a little advantage, but in the end it won’t be that much.
“When I tested here it was the old car and now with the new-age Sprint Cup car it’s going to be different,” Allmendinger said. “As racecar drivers our job is to come out and adapt and I know NASCAR is going to give us a lot of time on the racetrack anyways, so coming here and not being here for a couple of years isn’t going to matter.”
Kentucky is very bumpy, and Logano said that’s the key to making your car handle well at the newest Cup locale.
“There are so many bumps around this place,” Logano noted. “Turns one and two, mainly on the bottom, there’s a good one into three and the front straightaway is pretty bumpy, but I like it. I think it gives [the track] good character.
Logano drives his No. 20 test car around Kentucky on Wednesday
“With the double file restarts you don’t get to pick where you start. It’s a good thing. That’s why you’ve got to be able to have both (high and low line setups) because you don’t want to go over the bumps in one, bounce up the track and take out half the field. You want to be able to pass some cars.”
Whether it’s Nationwide or Cup, one of NASCAR’s youngest will be the favorite to run up front in July. When one reporter asked Logano if he was running in the Nationwide event he stated simply, “Oh yeah. I am. I will be there, and I’m excited about it.”
Why wouldn’t he be excited? He’s already perfect at Kentucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment