USAR: Mansfield CS: Joey Logano preview

Joey Logano Returns To the Sight of His History-Making Win

15-Year-Old Won At Mansfield Motorsports Speedway Earlier This Year, Ready for Another

MOORESVILLE, NC (October 4, 2005) -- "Kids just don't listen." How many times have you heard that coming from the mouths of adults? To a degree, the same can be said for young USAR Hooters Pro Cup driver Joey Logano.

After missing the first three USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series Northern Division races of the year, he was told he had no chance of being in the thick of the points' battle. They also said, 'Hey, he's only 15-years-old, there is no way he can beat guys two- and three-times his age and/or win races to boot.'

Just like most kids his age, Joey Logano didn't listen. That's a good thing, because fans around the country are being treated to watching the kid mow down the Pro Cup Series competition.

This weekend, the 15-year-old phenom will return to the seat of his #51 Joe Gibbs Performance Racing Oil Ford at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway (OH). He'll be looking to make even more history than he did at the track earlier this year when he became the youngest driver in the series history to win an event, just weeks after turning 15 and becoming eligible to run.

"We are just trying to win as many races as we can and run up front as much as we can," said Logano. "We are going to let the points fall where they may. That is the stance we are taking and that is what we've done all year long.

"We just need to keep having finishes like Jennerstown (Speedway, PA, where he finished second). We need to be able to take bad days and turn them into good runs. If we do that, we'll be there at the end of races and we'll be there at the end of the year."

Logano qualified for the five-race "Four Championships Championship Series" after running a partial Northern Division schedule in 2005 with the Pro Cup Series. Logano was forced to sit out the first three races of the year until he turned 15.

After turning 15, it took Logano just two races to find his way to Victory Lane, which he did when the Northern Division visited Mansfield Motorsports Speedway during the regular season.

"I'm not going back there thinking about the win. I don't think people will be gunning for me either. We didn't have a great car that day, but we were good enough and some racing luck fell our way. We will definitely be faster this time than we were there last time; but then again, the competition is only going to be that much tougher since it is a championship race."

Logano recently tested at the track, hoping to give himself an even more decided advantage.

"The test went pretty good. We tried some different things. I think we were pretty quick. It is hard to judge sometimes. I think we will be pretty good when we go back there."

In the first of the championship races (at Jennerstown Speedway), Logano finished a strong second. He jumped from the mid-40s in the point standings all the way to 15th. He also jumped to third in the Rookie of the Year standings. He is now just 28 points out of the rookie lead.

"We just need to keep getting good finishes. I think we'll be alright this weekend when we go back to Mansfield and race. We've got some experience on that track already, so that always helps too. We just have to stay out of trouble and finish really well in these races and catch up in the point standings.

The Alan Kulwicki Memorial Lucas Oil 250 is the second event of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup "Four Champions Championship Series," and will be at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio, on Saturday, October 8. The race will be shown on SPEED Channel on Saturday, October 15, at 10:00pm ET.

-joeyloganoracing.com.