BUY TICKETS: See the races at Bristol
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joey Logano was his typical smiles and optimism at Daytona International Speedway on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, where five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams tested for both NASCAR and Goodyear before enjoying the first off weekend of the 2017 season.
"Obviously, tests are hard to come by these days, there aren't many of them," Logano said. "Yesterday (Tuesday) was interesting with a lot of different packages coming from NASCAR and today a Goodyear test. We did four 25-lap runs in a five-car pack to give them some data this morning and help them make decisions on their tire selections.
"Now this afternoon we get to play a little bit. The fun part's about to start for me."
NASCAR had the drivers -- also including Alex Bowman (in Jimmie Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevy), Stewart-Haas Racing's Danica Patrick, Richard Childress Racing's Ryan Newman and Furniture Row Racing rookie Erik Jones -- try out various packages.
Specifically on Tuesday they tried variations of a new NASCAR design to keep the race cars from going airborne easily or frequently.
Wednesday morning the drivers worked on tire feedback for Goodyear and then the afternoon was dedicated to more individual team-centric goals.
It's been an accomplished early portion of the season for the 2015 Daytona 500 winner Logano, who said he was glad the teams had this test on the 2.5-mile high banks. As good as his Team Penske group has performed this year, he hasn't won a race yet.
Yet.
"I just wanna win, that's me, I'm not happy unless I win and I'll be mad if I finish second," said Logano, who drives the Team Penske No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford. "That's just the 22 team. We have one goal, to win. And everything short of that isn't failure, but it's not achieving our goal.
"That's our strategy, our approach. And we have better days than others. We know that."
He's coming off a "better day" -- a season-best third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday and has six top-six finishes through the first seven races of 2017. And yet for all that, Logano is ranked sixth in the standings, which are topped by several new faces of excellence.
"We haven't put the whole race together in all honesty," Logano said. "When we've had fast race cars, we've had pit road penalties or weird things happen that we don't score the stage points and we don't put ourselves in position to win. We put ourselves in position to get a top-five again.
"Last week we had a 10th-place car and put ourselves in position to win, but we weren't fast enough to win the race.
"We have to take both of those things and put ourselves in Victory Lane, which I feel is just around the corner. Our cars aren't far off."
RELATED: Upping the ante at the All-Star Race | FAQ
Logano, the defending Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race winner, told reporters he was good with the changes announced Tuesday to the May 20 invitational. But he deferred to his veteran crew chief Todd Gordon about the new tire strategy -- including a softer, green-lettered "option" tire available to teams for the first time ever.
"It's interesting," Logano said. "It will change it up for sure with a tire like that and change the strategy. You should probably talk to Todd. For me, it's pretty basic, pass the car in front of me."
Speaking about the early season to date, Logano grinned in replying to questions about the "young guns" charging through the points standings. Kyle Larson, 24, currently leads 21-year-old Chase Elliott by 17 points atop the standings. Including Logano (ranked fifth, 72 points behind Larson) and 23-year-old Ryan Blaney, right behind in sixth place – four drivers 26 or younger leading the way.
MORE: Monster Energy Series driver points standings
Logano remains confident his first victory of 2017 is imminent. He's a two-time winner at tiny Bristol Motor Speedway, where the series visits April 23 after the off week, and he's also a winner at the following venue, Richmond International Raceway.
And while Logano recognizes he's on the "upside" of the youth movement, the 17-time Cup winner was quick to remind that he has big boy trump cards in experience and confidence. And success.
"I don't think I'm old. I'm 26, for crying out loud," he said smiling. "I do like that I have more experience than all of them. And that plays in my hand that I have nine years of experience, plus I'm 26 so I have plenty of youth, too. ... I'm in a very good spot.
"Those first three or four years of sucking are paying off now, so that's good," he said with a laugh.