Behind the Wall: Joey Logano

Showing posts with label Joey Logano. Show all posts

Friday, December 2, 2016

2016 NASCAR Driver Spotlight Review: Joey Logano

Joey Logano 2016 Review

Image result for joey logano 2016 phoenix

By Richard Tix

2016 Preview Article

Season Grade: A-

Season Preview: "I have Joey Logano back in the Final Four in 2016, much like 2014. Last year I was between BK and him making the final, and the one I picked would be the Champion. I went BK, but I would have been wrong either way. That's how crazy the new Chase is. I am not sure 2016 will be as successful as 2015 was according to the basic stats, but JoLo will have another nice season. I see 3-5 wins, 17-18 top 5's, and 20-22 Top 10's which are all down from 2015, but he could end up further in the Chase."

Season Review: In general terms I was almost spot on with JoLo in 2016. His numbers were a bit down from 2015 but he advanced back to the final four again (second time in three years). When it came down to it, Joey Logano had a shot once again at his first Cup Championship but couldn't seal the deal. In reality, most of this had to do with the fact that he didn't have a run in with a certain driver at Kansas this season. After not having a run in with another driver at Kansas he in turn didn't get pile drived into a corner at Loudon. I would say those two things may have helped him, just a bit, in 2016.

JoLo gave everything he had late in the race at Homestead to try and make something happen, but couldn't put himself in position to beat out Jimmie Johnson. However disappointing Homestead was, he still put in one heck of a season. I do want to note, that situation was not caused by, or at fault by Joey Logano. Both he and Carl thought they were doing what needed to be done to win a Championship. But, onwards... He and Brad Keselowski once again had fast Penske Ford's all season long and JoLo performed when it mattered late in the season.

2016 marked Joey's third straight impressive year showing glimpses of the future of NASCAR. He is still only 26 years old and is at the top of a talented young crop of drivers with loads of talent that include Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson.

Logano now has 17 career wins with 14 of those coming in the last three seasons. That is an average of 4.66 wins a season which is a nice pace for a guy entering what should be his prime years. I still think a NASCAR Championship is on the near horizon for Joey and the No. 22 team, but more on that in the upcoming 2017 previews!

Previous Driver Spotlights

Friday, January 29, 2016

2016 NASCAR Driver Spotlight Preview: Joey Logano

Joey Logano 2016 Preview

By Richard Tix

2015 Review

Joey Logano Career Paint Schemes

Everything but Martinsville went Joey Logano's way in 2016. He lead NASCAR with 6 wins and 28 top 10's (tied with Harvick), while coming up with the second most top 5's (22 to Harvicks 23) and he kicked off the season with his first career Daytona 500 win. He was a Championship favorite and went on to win Charlotte, Kansas, and Taladega during the Chase in back to back to back races.

Then came the race that shaped his season whether he likes it or not, Martinsville.

After Martinsville it was and uphill battle to get a win before the final round moved to Miami. JoLo came up short and the season for he and Matt Kenseth will forever be remembered for Kansas and Martinsville.

But, on the positive note Joey announced he was here to stay after a break out season in 2014. He finally has got to the level where Mark Martin could see him getting to when he called him "sliced bread." So, will he finally be Champion in 2016?

Bold Predictions/2016 Season Expectations:

I have Joey Logano back in the Final Four in 2016, much like 2014. Last year I was between BK and him making the final, and the one I picked would be the Champion. I went BK, but I would have been wrong either way. That's how crazy the new Chase is. I am not sure 2016 will be as successful as 2015 was according to the basic stats, but JoLo will have another nice season. I see 3-5 wins, 17-18 top 5's, and 20-22 Top 10's which are all down from 2015, but he could end up farther in the Chase.

Previous Driver Spotlights

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

2015 Driver Spotlight Review: Joey Logano

Joey Logano 2015 Review

By Richard Tix

2015 Preview

Season Grade: A

Season Preview: "It's hard to imagine another season like 2014, it always seems that way with NASCAR because its hard to stay that good that long. Yet, I do think he and Penske will have another good season. I think from now on he will be a title contender year after year, but I am not sure he will win it just yet. I think either he or BK will once again make the Finale in Homestead. Another 4 wins, 11-13 top 5's, and 19-22 top 10's are what I expect from JoLo this year."

Season Review: Remember when I said 2014 was his breakout year (if you don't just take a look back at the 2015 JoLo preview linked above)? Well, what does that make his 2015 season? He finished with one more win (6), eight more top 5's (22), and 6 more top 10's (28), while also putting up 5 more poles (6) then his "breakout" 2014 season.

He won races, he finishes consistently in the top 5, he pissed off Kenseth, he made a ton of fans Kenseth fans, and he had the best season of career. He did just about everything in 2015, except win the Championship. Most of that can go back to the Kenesth issue and how you feel about that, but it is a fact that whatever happened kept him from the Finale.

It was another huge year for a young driver becoming a star. When thinking about this season it is important to remember almost all of the great Champions were hated at one point (Earnhardt, Waltrip, Gordon, Johnson, etc). Joey still has it in him to become a Champion, but 2015 was a road bump in his way to that possibility.

Previous Driver Spotlights

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

2015 March Madness NASCAR Style: Final

NASCAR Behind the Wall Championship

By Richard Tix

Well, the third annual March Madness NASCAR bracket is coming to a close in 2015. This is the first year the tournament will end at Bristol as NASCAR changed its schedule and NBTW also extended the bracket by one race. So, after a week off and then NASCAR heading to Texas, we are down to two. Going into Texas we had Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola left. So, lets take a look at who moved on, how they moved on, and who is facing off at Bristol.

Rules and Bracket Breakdown

Brackets were decided by current standings after the race at Las Vegas. Four Divisions, top 4 in the standings got the #1 seeds, 5-8 in the standings got the #2 seeds, 9-12 #3 seeds and so on.
From the standings the rankings were given out serpentine style. Meaning: The driver ranked 5th (first #2 seed) started in the lowest #1 seed's bracket. That continues until the three seeds where it then goes from top back down.
Here is how the rounds break down by race (first race we have two eliminations to speed it up).

Phoenix: Round 32
Auto Club: Sweet 16
Martinsville: Elite 8
Texas: Final Four
Bristol: Championship

The driver that finishes Highest in the race moves on, no bonus points included (Think the last Chase Race)

Round by Round Articles:

2015 March Madness NASCAR Style Bracket

5	Keselowski					4	Almirola
		5	Keselowski	1	Logano
6	Larson					1	Logano

Well, the Team Penske run in the 2015 March Madness NASCAR Style continues into the Championship. This after Joey Logano finished 4th and Brad Keselowski finished 5th at Texas Motor Speedway. It wasn't really a close two match-ups either as Almirola finished 19th and Larson finished 25th. Both BK and JoLo have been rolling this year and once Harvick was out of the tourney it has really been theirs to lose.

Championship Match-Up

5) Keselowski v 1) Logano

Over his career Bristol has not been JoLo's best track, yet we go into this weekend with Joey being the most recent Bristol winner (Fall of 2014). So, did he figure it out? Statistically he has run much better in the Fall race compared to the Spring race, maybe it's the light?
Comparatively, BK's career has been pretty good at Bristol Including back to back wins in 2011 (Fall) and 2012 (Spring). He has run into some bad luck in his last 5 finishing 30th twice but I still think he holds a slight edge over JoLo. BK is a one time winner in the NASCAR Behind the Wall March Madness Tournament (2013) in the three years it has been running.

Previous NASCAR Behind the Wall March Madness Champions