Joey Logano 2012 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2011 Stats: Points Finish 24th, 0 Wins, 4 Top Fives, 6 Top Tens, Average Running Position 19.0, Average Finish 19.1, Laps Led 58, Driver Rating 73.8
“Sliced Bread” certainly didn’t live up to his nickname in 2011. He set career lows almost across the board. His season was very similar to his rookie year which was clearly a setback for the three year veteran. However in some respects he was actually worse. Last season he only had six top tens and in 2009 he had seven. Last season he finished in the top twenty in eighteen races, in 2009 he finished in the top twenty in nineteen races.
In 2012 I think Logano will be racing for his job. Home Depot has already indicated that their willing to jump ship by the mid season Carl Edwards rumors. 2012 is a contract season for Joey Logano and Greg Zipadelli so get your popcorn ready because this should prove to be an interesting season.
Strengths- Logano is at his best on shorter flat tracks (New Hampshire, Martinsville, Phoenix) and road courses. He also has strong showings on occasion at plate tracks.
Weaknesses- Intermediate tracks make up the core of the Sprint Cup schedule and his struggles on this track type sunk him in the points. Starting strong and ending strong is also a problem for him and the 20 team. In 2011 he got his first top ten of the season in April and he got his last top ten in August.
Intermediate Track Grade- B-, Last season Joey Logano scored the 26th most points in the series on this track type. He averaged a mere 21.7 points per race and only ran in the top fifteen for 22.4% percent of the laps. This B- rating isn’t based on how well he ran, it’s based on that somehow he should fare better in 2012. Last season he only finished in the top ten once and it was in the Coca Cola 600 and we all know how that race ended. He also failed to lead a lap on this track type.
Flat Track Grade- B, Logano finished in the top fifteen in three out of four races at the shorter flat tracks. At Pocono he finished 11th and 26th but he was actually better when he finished poorly. In that race he started on the pole, led 44 laps and had his best average running position of the season (5.6). At Indy he finished 25th.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B, Last season Joey Logano worked almost exclusively with Kyle Busch on the plate tracks. He finished in the top ten twice and had his best race of the season in the July Daytona race (finished 3rd). Talladega throughout his career has been a traditional stronghold (four top tens in six races).
Short Track Grade- B-, Last season Logano finished in the top fifteen in half the short track races. His other finishes were 18th, 23rd and 35th (engine). In terms of ranking him on short tracks I would go Martinsville, Richmond and Bristol.
Road Course Track Grade- B+, Joey Logano performed strongly on road courses last season. He started on the pole and finished sixth at Infineon and at Watkins Glen he finished 5th. Typically his results for the year at Infineon mirror what you should expect out of him at Watkins Glen.
How to use Joey Logano from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2012? In 2012 I would use Logano at the shorter flat tracks, road courses, Charlotte and Talladega.
[button link=”http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/drivers/joey-logano/57″ style=”tick” color=”orange”]FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com Joey Logano Page[/button]
[fblike url=”http://ifantasyrace.com/2011/11/30/joey-logano-2012-fantasy-nascar-preview/” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]
