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Joey Logano has posted a top-12 finish in all but one race this season.Logano returns to site of his debut with less hype
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A year ago, Joey Logano had just celebrated his 18th birthday and was preparing to buckle the belts for his first Nationwide Series race. Doesn't sound that big of a deal; it happens throughout the year, and will even happen this weekend with 19-year-old Jeffrey Earnhardt attempting to make his series debut.
But this was different. It was Joey Logano.
"There was a lot of hype surrounding my first Nationwide Series start," Logano said. "I wasn't immune to it, but pressure is something that has never bothered me. We are in a pressure sport and if you can't take it you probably need to find something else to do."
Logano started ninth and finished sixth -- celebrated by onlookers as a success for a debut in one of NASCAR's national series. But Logano was disappointed. He at least wanted a top-five.
Saturday's race will be Logano's 30th in the Nationwide Series, and he hasn't dropped the ball on his expectations at Joe Gibbs Racing. The organization has won the last three Dover races, only it's been the 18 car that's gone to Victory Lane the past two times. Now 19 years old, Logano will look to get career win No. 3 and a fourth in a row at Dover for JGR.
1Time this season that Joey Logano has finished worse than 12th. He was 20th in the season-opening race at Daytona. His average finish is 7.5 in 10 starts this season.
2Finishes of 20th or worse for Joey Logano in his 29 career Nationwide Series starts: 31st at Nashville last June, and the aforementioned 20th at Daytona this year.
2Victories for Joey Logano, one last year at Kentucky (his third career start) and one this year at Nashville.
2Times Joey Logano has failed to finish on the lead lap in a Nationwide race, both in 2008: Nashville (June) and Montreal (crashed on the last lap).
8Times Joey Logano has failed to finish in the top 10 in his 29 career starts.
Coverage of the Heluva Good! 200 (Entry List | Tickets
) begins at 2 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC.
2Races in the past 12 Dover events that the winner started worse than eighth, both of which happened in 2006. Jeff Burton won the spring race from a 36th starting position, and Clint Bowyer won the fall race from 16th.
3Consecutive races at Dover that have been won by Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin won the fall race in 2007, then the spring event last year. Kyle Busch won the 2008 fall event.
11Former Dover winners entered in Saturday's race: Morgan Shepherd (1986), Casey Atwood (1999), Jason Keller (2000), Scott Wimmer (2002), Greg Biffle (2002, 2004), Joe Nemechek (2003 spring), Brian Vickers (2003 fall), Ryan Newman (2005), Clint Bowyer (2006), Carl Edwards (2007), Kyle Busch (2008).
11Drivers who have an average finish of 10th or better at Dover (two-start minimum).
290Laps led by Kevin Harvick at Dover, the most among drivers without a victory at the track. In 13 starts there, Harvick has seven top-10 finishes.
1,299Points scored by Greg Biffle in the last 10 races at Dover. His worst finish during that span was 18th in the 2007 spring race. Biffle has seven top-10 finishes in that span.
THE WOW FACTOR
334Laps that Ryan Newman has led in just two races at Dover (400 total laps). Newman started from the pole in 2005 and led 193 of the 200 laps to claim victory in the No. 39 Dodge. His average running position: 1.1. No other driver led more than two laps: Clint Bowyer (2), Martin Truex Jr. (2), Kenny Wallace (1), Jason Keller (1) and Tony Raines (1). Only 26 of the 43 starters finished the race. In Newman's only other Dover start (2001), he began from the pole but settled for a 21st-place finish, two laps down. Still, he led 141 of the 200 laps in that race driving the No. 02 Ford. He's entered in Saturday's race to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet.
THE SUPER LOOPER
1,550Laps in the top 15 for Carl Edwards in the past eight Dover races (total 1,609 laps). That's just 59 laps in which Edwards was not 15th or better in the running order. His average running position in that span is 6.0. Edwards won the 2007 spring race. Only twice in that span has he finished worse than ninth: 2005 spring (31st), and 2006 fall (26th).
Driver Rating at Dover (since 2005, eight races)
| Pos. | Driver | Rating | Starts | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ryan Newman* | 150.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 334 |
| 2. | Carl Edwards* | 113.0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 207 |
| 3. | Denny Hamlin | 109.3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 323 |
| 4. | Mike Bliss* | 105.2 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 71 |
| 5. | Clint Bowyer* | 102.9 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 88 |
| 6. | Greg Biffle* | 102.3 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 173 |
| 7. | Brian Vickers* | 102.1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 105 |
| 8. | Kyle Busch* | 101.2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 253 |
| 9. | Kevin Harvick* | 100.6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 290 |
| 10. | Joey Logano* | 96.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
• Loop Data Statistics: Season-to-Date Box Score | * Entered in this race
BLAST FROM THE PAST
1Lead change in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 1999 spring victory at Dover. Dick Trickle started from the pole and led the first 88 laps before Earnhardt took over to pace the rest of the way. It was the fourth-slowest Dover race in history (91.324 mph) with nine cautions. Ironically, Earnhardt won Dover's fastest race (130.152) a year earlier, leading 88 laps in a race that saw just one caution.
Series winners at Dover
| Year | Driver | Make | Year | Driver | Make | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Joe Ruttman | Pontiac | 1997 | Bobby Labonte | Pontiac | |
| 1983 | Ricky Rudd | Oldsmobile | Joe Bessey | Chevrolet | ||
| 1984 | Sam Ard | Oldsmobile | 1998 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | |
| 1985 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet | ||
| 1986 | Darrell Waltrip | Pontiac | 1999 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | |
| Morgan Shepherd | Buick | Casey Atwood | Chevrolet | |||
| 1987 | Mark Martin | Ford | 2000 | Jason Keller | Chevrolet | |
| Rick Mast | Buick | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet | |||
| 1988 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Buick | 2001 | Jimmy Spencer | Chevrolet | |
| Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet | Jeff Green | Ford | |||
| 1989 | Rick Wilson | Oldsmobile | 2002 | Greg Biffle | Ford | |
| Ken Schrader | Chevrolet | Scott Wimmer | Pontiac | |||
| 1990 | Michael Waltrip | Pontiac | 2003 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | |
| Harry Gant | Buick | Brian Vickers | Chevrolet | |||
| 1991 | Todd Bodine | Buick | 2004 | Greg Biffle | Ford | |
| Harry Gant | Buick | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | |||
| 1992 | Robert Pressley | Oldsmobile | 2005 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | |
| Robert Pressley | Oldsmobile | Ryan Newman | Dodge | |||
| 1993 | Todd Bodine | Chevrolet | 2006 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | |
| Todd Bodine | Chevrolet | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | |||
| 1994 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 2007 | Carl Edwards | Ford | |
| Johnny Benson | Chevrolet | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | |||
| 1995 | Mike McLaughlin | Chevrolet | 2008 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | |
| Johnny Rumley | Chevrolet | Kyle Busch | Toyota | |||
| 1996 | Randy LaJoie | Chevrolet | ||||
| Randy LaJoie | Chevrolet |
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Nationwide Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Kyle Busch | 1714 | Leader |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 1641 | -73 |
| 3. | -- | Jason Leffler | 1541 | -173 |
| 4. | -- | Joey Logano | 1495 | -219 |
| 5. | -- | Brad Keselowski | 1473 | -241 |
| 6. | -- | Jason Keller | 1296 | -418 |
| 7. | -- | David Ragan | 1285 | -429 |
| 8. | +4 | Brendan Gaughan | 1237 | -477 |
| 9. | +4 | Mike Bliss | 1234 | -480 |
| 10. | -1 | Justin Allgaier | 1210 | -504 |
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