Year in Review: Joey Logano

Joey Logano said the biggest jump he's made in his fast-tracked career is the move from the Nationwide Series to the Sprint Cup Series.

The 20-year-old may not have yet fully lived up to the hype on the Cup side, he's more than successful still in Nationwide.

Logano was eighth in the 2010 points standings despite running only 25 of 35 races. It was his busiest Nationwide season to date -- he ran 19 races in 2008, and 22 in 2009.

He finished in the top five in 15 of those 25 races, and was in the top 10 in all but one start.

What went right

Logano's qualifying was definitely his strong suit. He earned eight poles, a series high, meaning about one every three races. He started first in back-to-back races twice at the end of the season, at Dover and Kansas, then Phoenix and Homestead.

And he wasn't bad after the green flag dropped either. Twice Logano had stretches of six consecutive top-five finishes. The first started with a third-place finish at Charlotte and wrapped up with consecutive runner-up finishes at Daytona, Chicago and Watkins Glen.

The second started with a runner-up finish at Dover in September, included a victory the following week at Kansas and finished with a third-place run at Phoenix in the season's penultimate race.

Also, if NASCAR receives a petition for Kentucky Speedway to host the entire Nationwide schedule, it will probably be from Logano. For the third time in his three years, Logano won both the pole and the race at Kentucky.

What went wrong

The lone time Logano didn't finish in the top 10 came at Bristol in March. He was battling for fifth with Kevin Harvick when the two got together and Logano spun out and had to settle for 14th. That was, of course, the precursor for the infamous "firesuit" comment at Pocono Raceway in June.

Logano's other struggle was in leading laps. He finished in the top five 15 times, but led more than 25 laps in only six races. If he wants to rack up the victories, he'll need to work his way to the front of the field for more of the race.

Looking to 2011

Assuming Logano runs essentially the same schedule, 2011 should be an even better year. He had a downturn in victories in 2010, but he improved in every other category. He's learning, still, and figures to apply those lessons to the track in the Nationwide Series.

Logano will also have a chance to take on more of a leadership role with Joe Gibbs Racing's expansion to a third team with Brian Scott. Scott has one season of Nationwide experience and could pick Logano's brain about the series.