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Joey Logano is my 2015 championship pick. Yes I also picked him before the 2014 season. Not a fan of his , but hard to deny the potential this dude have. Last season most people starting to realized how good he was. But honestly soon as he moved to Penske he became a superstar. Year 3 could be the year for Logano.
Honestly I feel like Logano don't ever get the credit he deserves. I felt like at JGR he was the odd man out. Coach Gibbs saw the potential with him. Unfortunately pulled the trigger too soon and missed Joey in his prime. Penske will have a lot success with Logano.
Last season at Intermediate venues , Logano was one of the best in the series. Actually his first two years with Penske he been one of the best in the NSCS. Charlotte always stood out to me. In 12 career starts , Logano have an 10.0 average finish and 7 Top 10s. Have two top 5s since being with Penske. Las Vegas been an excellent track for Logano. In 6 career starts , Only have 1 finish outside the top 20. Last season he had one of the strongest cars in the field and finish 4th.
Charlotte probably his best track. But Dover isn't far behind. In 12 career races , Logano have 8 Top 10s and 3 Top 5s. Over past 2 seasons , Logano have 4 Top 10s and 5.5 average finish. Logano underrated here. Don't hear much about him because he never won. But I consider him the best driver not to win yet.
At Flats Logano will be a big threat no doubt. New Hampshire is his best track in my opinion. Over past two seasons , JoLo only have an 23.7 average finish and 87.0 driver rating. Don't be fooled though. The past 2 July races , Logano only completed 211 laps and finish 40th both times. Crazy how he had an incident and only completed 211 laps both races. Last October he won after leading 73 laps. Logano is much better then his record suggests. Cannot always believe stats. Sometimes they're misleading like in this instance.
Phoenix is another place that I really like him at. In 2014 he was arguably one of the best drivers in the field. Excluding his debut with Penske in 2013 , Logano been excellent. Past 3 races , Logano have 6.3 average finish and 112.3 driver rating. Also Logano have led in all three races for combine total of 121 laps.
Pocono and Indy also been pretty kind to him since joining Team Penske. Excluding June 2014 Pocono race , Joey have an 6.6 average finish and 103.3 driver rating at Pocono. At Indianapolis , Joey been equally good. In 2 races since joining Penske , Joey have an 6.5 average finish and 104.0 driver rating. Between the two larger flats (5 races) , Logano have 6.5 average finish and 103.6 driver rating.
Short tracks was somewhat of a weak spot in 2013. But he shown major improvements in 2014. Richmond been his top short track. Excluding Richmond fall 2013 , Logano been stout. In 3 races with Penske , Logano have an 3.3 average finish and 109.3 driver rating. Won last spring after leading 46 laps.
Bristol been good to Logano especially since joining Team Penske. In 4 races with races with Penske , Logano have an 1 win , 103.5 driver rating and 10.7 average finish. Solid record. But unfortunately it misleading. Actually Logano record should be even better. Spring 2014 Bristol race , Logano had a top 5 car before an mechanical issue cost him multiple laps and finish 20th.
At Martinsville Logano was phenomenal in 2014. He was the only driver to finish inside the top 5 in both races. Had an driver rating above 115.0 in both races which backs up his 4.5 average finish. Also had excellent qualifying efforts. He have qualified 6th or better in all 4 races with Team Penske. Not many guys can say that.
Logano very underrated at Road courses. Only matter of time before he breaks out. In 4 road courses races with Team Penske , Logano have an 10.0 average finish and 2 Top 10s. Both top 10s came at Watkins Glenn. Sonoma been a little rougher. Still haven't been terrible. Sonoma been a tough spot for Team Penske over last few years as an organization. Logano results probably been the only positive.
Plate tracks are hard to predict. I really hate using stats and numbers to make a point for a driver. To be honest , I don't hate using Logano at either venue. Nor would I recommend. I think it comes to your gut feeling. He found success at them in 2014. 5 of 8 with Penske have resulted in the 11th - 20th place range. Weather that trend continue is questionable though.
I am very high him like I was last offseason. Otherwise he wouldn't be my championship pick. You could use him pretty much anywhere. Short , flats and Intermediate tracks will be the best places to use him. Road Courses also wouldn't be a terrible place to unload Logano. Weakness for Logano may be his inexperience. This dude only 24 years old despite 6 years racing in Cup. Last season he saw it bit him a few times.
Twitter - @JeffNathans