Five reasons why Joey Logano has a shot to win the Sprint Cup title
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season was a breakout year for Team Penske's Joey Logano. The driver of the No. 22 Ford earned five victories, 16 top fives and 22 top 10s, and advanced through the 16-driver Chase field to be among the four contenders for the Sprint Cup title at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Competitive for much of the season finale, a series of poor late-race pit stops mired Logano deep in the field and resulted in a fourth-place finish in the championship battle.
Returning with largely the same group of guys he went to battle with in 2014, Logano is geared up for another championship run.
Here are five reasons why the 24-year-old driver from Middletown, Connecticut can win the 2015 Sprint Cup championship:
Familiarity
The No. 22 team has remained primarily the same heading into the 2015 Sprint Cup season, and that has confidence on Logano's side. The only major change for the 2015 season is a new rear tire carrier.
"I think they have fun out there, and we raced for a championship," Logano, speaking during Thursday's NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, said of his Todd Gordon-led team. "We have won a lot of races together and do a lot of stuff together (outside) the racetrack, and I think that is important."
A familiar crew is typically an effective crew, and can be bad news for the competition.
Maturity
Under the microscope since entering the sport as a teenager, Logano has matured both as a driver and a person. Just 24 years old, Logano recently got married and is feeling upbeat heading into his seventh full-time season in the Sprint Cup season.
"I think when you enjoy your job, you do a better job at it," he said. "If you dread going to work, you probably aren't going to do a good job."
During last season's run to the championship finale, Logano and his No. 22 team meshed well as a cohesive group.
Furthermore, the entire Team Penske organization remained committed to working as a whole throughout the season, despite Logano and teammate Brad Keselowski racing one another for the championship.
Logano feels that chemistry will play a major role in making another championship-contending run in 2015.
"I try to spend a lot of time with them and build relationships with them and have some fun, and I think that is a good thing for our team," said Logano. "I also make sure they know how hard I am going to work at this and appreciate how hard they are working at it, and I make sure they are working hard at it. As a driver, I feel like that is part of the role I take on, and I feel like it is one of the strong points of the 22 team so far."
Speed
While Roush Fenway Racing continues to rebuild its program, Team Penske has taken the torch as the leading Ford Racing organization and has run with it.
Entering its third year under the Ford banner, Team Penske shows little signs of slowing as the top "Blue Oval" team.
Experience
Starting his seventh full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Logano is no longer the bright-eyed youngster struggling to live up to expectations.
Through his years in the sport, Logano has stood his ground against other competitors and done his best to move past the "Sliced Bread" moniker.
One of only four drivers to race in NASCAR's inaugural winner-take-all championship race, Logano also has that experience to lean on while preparing to make another run at the title.
"We learned a lot about the whole week leading into it and how to prepare at the track and how to handle practice and do all that stuff to hopefully be in the same position again and do a better job," Logano said. "That is the biggest thing we took away. There were a lot of positives last year and it is something I am proud of. Unfortunately, it isn't what we wanted, but we learned a lot about how to mentally prepare for a championship race like that."
If Logano can continue down the path of success set in 2014, the driver and his Todd Gordon-led team can once again contend for the Sprint Cup Series championship, and possibly walk away from Homestead-Miami Speedway with the title in hand.
