Daytona 500 Preview

The Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile superspeedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.)

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano

Sunday, February 23, 1:00 pm ET

• ANOTHER SOLID START TO THE SEASON: For the second-straight year, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team started the season with a top-five finish at Daytona International Speedway in last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited. Logano finished fourth in the event, following up a third-place finish last season. Logano led twice for 11 laps and finished with the third-best driver rating of all those entered on Saturday.
• DUEL HISTORY – THE GOOD AND BAD: Following his 15th-place qualifying effort this past Sunday in Daytona 500 time trials, Logano will start eighth in the first of the two Duels on Thursday evening. Logano has competed in five Duel events over the course of his career, producing four top-10 finishes. His best finish in the Duels came in his rookie season of 2009 when he finished fourth. He’s competed in the first Duel twice and the second Duel on three occasions.
• TAKING NO TIME OFF: With the unique schedule around Daytona Speedweeks, most teams have Monday and Tuesday off as the garage at Daytona International Speedway is closed. However, Team Penske and both the No. 2 and No. 22 teams are spending those two days preparing for the upcoming season. Both teams will test at Nashville on Tuesday before flying back to Daytona as action resumes on Wednesday.
• ANOTHER DAYTONA RACE?: Logano’s Daytona stats don’t just include NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races – but also an ARCA start. In 2009, prior to his first Cup start at the famed track, Logano started third and finished second in the ARCA event at Daytona.
• OFF-SEASON FUN: During the first week back at the track, one of the most commonly-asked questions asked of drivers by both fans and media is “how was your off-season” Logano had a productive but quiet off-season leading into Daytona. The 23-year-old, who got engaged to long-time girlfriend Brittany Baca at the end of 2013, spent a lot of time wedding planning. He also tested with both his No. 22 team and the Team Penske test team at Nashville, Daytona and Memphis. Logano also welcomed new Team Penske teammate Juan Pablo Montoya by participating in his charity go-kart event in Columbia. He finished second in one of the two races behind his other Team Penske IndyCar teammate Helio Castroneves.

WHAT WERE YOU ABLE TO LEARN IN THE UNLIMITED THAT WILL CARRY OVER TO THE DUELS AND THE 500?

“We all learned that the cars drive different in the pack than they did last year. We will have a little bit of an advantage in the Duels over the guys that didn’t get to run the Unlimited but after that, everyone will have figured it out and will know how their car is going to handle. The biggest difference is it feels like the bottom lane isn’t a killer this year. Last year, you had to be on the top. This year, the bottom lane can make a move. That is going to make the racing a lot better, I think, come Thursday and Sunday.”

IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO GET A GOOD FINISH IN THE DUEL OR TO MAKE SURE YOU CAR COMES BACK IN ONE PIECE?

“Well, you always want your car to come back to the garage with minimal damage. You don’t want to have to go to a backup and start at the back of the 500. But, if there is any track and any race that you can overcome starting from the back, it’s here and at Talladega. But, you also want to get as good of a finish in the Duel so you can start up front in the 500. The best way to stay out of the mess that could happen in the 500 is to be way in front of it all and leading laps. So you have to find a balance.”