2009 Fantasy Rankings 25. Joey Logano

Fantasy Power Average*: 24.84
Wins: 1 (Lenox Industrial Tools 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
Top-fives: 3
Top-10s: 7
Top-15s: 13

Joey Logano fairly well lived up to expectations in 2009. While his rookie season lacked a lot of the flash of previous freshmen such as Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, fantasy owners will be well-served to remember that the original plan was to bring him into Cup competition in 2010 instead of last year. Tony Stewart's decision to leave Joe Gibbs Racing for his own team brought the teenager to the big leagues sooner than anticipated and yet the kid showed maturity and rarely drove over his head. In fact, Logano did precisely what NASCAR expects from a first-year driver: he improved in the second race on nearly every track that hosts two events.

Detractors will be quick to dismiss Logano's victory at New Hampshire because that race was shortened by rain while the No. 20 stretched its fuel, but they should note that his other pair of top-fives came in the closing events of 2009. Logano drove to a fifth at Lowe's in the NASCAR Banking 500 and crossed the line third at Talladega in the Amp Energy 500. Normally, we would discount any finish on the restrictor-plate superspeedways as a byproduct of luck over skill, but for a rookie to stay of trouble in the draft, it's remarkable.

Expect more of the same from Logano in 2010 as he visits tracks for the third and fourth time. As he and crew chief Greg Zipadelli develop more chemistry, the communication will only improve and Logano is learning how to describe the feel he needs. It's too soon to tell which track types will be his favorites, but in light of his strong Lowe's showing, watch him closely on the "cookie-cutter" tracks.

*The Fantasy Power Average is a formula that consists of a driver's finishing result plus other intangibles such as average running position, laps in the top 10, speed in traffic and quality passes. Each intangible is "expressed" as a finishing position (e.g. the driver with the most laps in the top 10 is given a hypothetical first-place finish), so the lower the number, the greater the strength.

25. Joey Logano

Newman a busy man at Bristol

When the NASCAR Cup series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway this August, Ryan Newman is going to be a very busy man.

During the wildly popular August race week at the World's Fastest Half-Mile, Newman will start his marathon with the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 Whelen Modified race and the O'Reilly 200 Camping World Truck Series event Wednesday, Aug. 19. On Friday, Aug. 21 he will compete in the Food City 250 Nationwide Series event and run the final leg, the Sharpie 500 Sprint Cup Series race, Saturday, Aug. 22, according to his Website.

Our View: Apparently his crash in the Modifieds last week at New Hampshire has not dulled his enthusiasm any. Those pocket rockets on the high banks should put on one heck of a show.

Logano making ground

Joey Logano is making huge strides in the Cup series, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Last week's victory in the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 may have been a gift, but he is perhaps the most improved driver in NASCAR. His first eight races this season netted an average finish of 29.1; his last nine races have improved to 14.3—an advance of 14.8 positions.

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Dysfunction at Red Bull Racing

Heading into Daytona this week, Brian Vickers and Scott Speed have issues to work out after an incident on the final lap of the Nationwide race, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Vickers took the first shot immediately following the Saturday race, saying that Speed was frustrated because he was running so badly in the Cup series. Speed responded by suggesting that someone paid Vickers to wreck him on Sunday.Teammates don't have to get along, but if they are going to share notes, it certainly helps. More importantly on the restrictor-plate superspeedways, Speed needs a drafting partner and those are hard to come by for rookies.

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Logano wins rain-shortened race at New Hampshire

For the second time this year a driver has won his first NASCAR race with an assist from Mother Nature. Joey Logano stretched his fuel mileage and caught a final rain shower to win the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

Our View: This is precisely how Kurt Busch won this same race last year, but the points still count the same.

Our other rain-aided winner David Reutimann finished fourth.

No one to the rear at New Hampshire

None of the cars will drop to the back of the pack, according to a tweet from @NASCARSays.

Our View: Of course, this would be more meaningful if qualification had been complete, but it's good news for everyone at the front of the field.

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Competition caution coming on lap 35

NASCAR will throw a caution on lap 35 to allow the teams to gauge their tire wear, according to a tweet from @NASCARSays. The track has had all its rubber washed away by rain.

Our View: This will allow the frontrunners to make needed changes and since they have the best pit stalls, they should be able to stay up front.

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Newman, Kahne crash in NASCAR Modifieds

The foray into the NASCAR Modified series ended in accidents for both Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne. Finishing 34th, Newman crashed on lap 64 while running second; Kahne crashed on lap 72 and finished 31st. Donny Lia won.

Our View: Both drivers spent time in the top 10, so hopefully they enjoyed the experiment.

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New Hampshire pit stall selections

Jayski.com has published the pit stall selections. As expected, Tony Stewart took the pit closest to the exit. Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson have the only other three pits with an opening in front of them.

Our View: New Hampshire can develop a tendency in which it is hard to pass, so these four drivers have improved their odds considerably with their selections.

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Harvick wins New Hampshire Happy Hour

Kevin Harvick posted the quickest average speed in New Hampshire's Happy Hour with a speed of 126.350 during 43 laps.

Our View: That should make him a compelling dark horse and he ran strong at Martinsville earlier in the year, but so much has gone wrong this year that it's hard to recommend him.

Truex posts single fastest lap in Happy Hour

Martin Truex Jr. posted the fastest single lap in Happy Hour with a speed of 128.186. His average speed was not bad either. At 126.253 during 43 laps, he was fifth best on average.

Our View: Truex was one of our dark horses at the beginning of the week and he's solidified his position as a strong mid-cap driver. A top-10 in well within his reach.

Sorenson posts single fast lap in NH Sat. am practice

Reed Sorenson posted the single fastest lap in the Saturday morning practice session with a top speed of 128.472 mph. He also had the quickest average speed of 126.921 during 29 laps. That certainly makes him a driver to watch in Happy Hour.

Our View: Sorenson has been uneven on the short, flat tracks, but so far this year he's finished 17th at Martinsville and 12th at Phoenix.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – New Hampshire

Mother Nature won time trials for the third time this year, but history suggest that is not a bad thing. check out our predictions in this weeks Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

Qualification canceled

Qualification has been cancelled at New Hampshire. The grid will be set by the NASCAR rule book, which puts Tony Stewart on the pole.

Our View: The last time this happened was at Pocono. Stewart wrecked a car there and had to race his backup. That sent him to the back of the pack, but since he wrecked early this week, he will be able to start his backup on the pole. (Unless, of course, he wrecks again and has to roll out another car.)

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Ku Busch wins first practice

Kurt Busch posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 with a speed of 130.667 mph. This practice session is typically focused on qualification setup, but with rain in the area, teams also worked on trace trim much of the day.

Our View: Busch is the defending winner of this race, but that victory came as the result of stretching his fuel mileage and catching the right shower in a rain-shortened afternoon. This week, he's strong enough to earn the win outright.

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Stewart crashes in NH practice 1

Tony Stewart preceded Mark Martin into the wall early in the first practice session at New Hampshire, but he did much more damage. The No. 14 team will roll out a backup.

Our View: So long as they change the engine before qualification, they should be able to hang onto their grid position from qualification. Fantasy owners will also remember how well he did in his backup at Pocono – he won.

The backup is reportedly the same one that finished second at Richmond—another relatively flat track.

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Martin spins in NH practice 1

Mark Martin drifted high in turn four, lightly slapped the wall and spun in the first practice session.

Our View: There appeared to be very little damage to his Chevrolet, however, so he should be fine for qualification and practice.

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Newman, Kahne qualify for NH Modified race

Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne have qualified for the Modified portion of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway weekend, according to a tweet from @NASCARHomeTracks. Newman will start seventh, while Newman is quite far behind in 17th.

Our View: These cars are very different from anything they have run, so it is amazing that Newman qualified so well. Aside from the novelty of them racing in this series, it will not have much impact on their fantasy value.

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Bowyer about New Hampshire

It's been a special track for me. It's where I got my first win in the Cup Series. It's just a fun racetrack. It seems like these mile racetracks are playing in my favor, and I enjoy it. Running in the Nationwide race this weekend. So looking forward to an action-packed weekend and Shane and all of the guys on The Hartford Chevrolet have been working hard and making sure that we are ready to go.

I think we have stopped the bleeding a little bit. We got going the wrong way in the points there and stopped the bleeding, got things pointed back in the right direction and I think we have got four Top-12s here in a row, so definitely got the consistency back that we are made out of and hopefully we'll start our march back into inside the Chase here in the next few weeks.

But you know, getting back to New Hampshire, I just enjoy the racetrack. I enjoy the raciness of the racetrack, being able to control a little bit of your own destiny. As you said, getting back to my first win, that's the one that you'll never forget, you know, and to be able to win it in pretty much dominant fashion meant a lot to me, and beating your peers and everything else. It's just a great weekend.

This is our second race with having The Hartford on the Chevrolet, so looking forward to that, and the first week of our contest. Enter to win this contest, enter at thehartfordracing.com, enter a chance to win a trip to Homestead Miami at the season final and a boating excursion with me championship weekend. It will be a lot of fun and a good time, so make sure you enter at thehartfordracing.com.

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Kurt Busch's 2008 was more than met the eye

In the 2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Kurt Busch seemingly stole a trophy when he stayed on track and benefited from the race being shortened, but there was more to it than that. According to SceneDaily.com, fuel mileage was the hidden factor in that victory.

“In our eyes, it will always be a fuel-mileage win," Busch said. "I don’t think that the record was ever set straight about what all came down there during the June race last year."

Our View: Regardless of whether that event was won because of fuel mileage or rain, he struggled mightily that day. In the fall, however, he finished sixth, which makes him a driver to watch this week.

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