“Me and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief), we’ve worked together for two races over in the Nationwide side and I felt like we connected really quick. I felt like the two of us, the communication at the race track, at the shop — it really accelerated at a really quick rate. So, I was excited about that. When the decision came up, I think Jason was kind of a shoe-in for that deal. I think he’s the perfect match for me. I think even in practice, we come in, sit down and talk to each other and try to make the best decision with the race car we possibly can. I feel like we’ve done a really good job for those first two races. I always felt like, ‘Man, I need to work with him more.’ I think we can do good things with it. I think he’s the right man for our Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota and we’ll go out there and do the best we can this year.”

What do you think about Greg Zipadelli leaving Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Sometimes things just don’t match up perfectly. I love Zip (Greg Zipadelli) to death. I’m going up to New York this weekend to do his charity ride. The friendship is still there. Things sometimes just don’t match up perfectly and we probably will get along a lot better now that we’re not working with each other. I still like him. I think it’s a good call for him to go over there. He wants to be home with his kids more. His kids are growing up. I don’t have kids so I don’t know what that’s like, but I would assume you want to be with them a lot. I think that’s a really good call for him and I think it’s going to be really neat. I think it’s going to be the best for both of us in the long run. I think it’s something that the No. 20 team itself needed and I think Zip needed it, too.”

Do you feel more pressure this season?

“No, not right now. I’m very relaxed. I feel like my head is in the right spot. I feel like I’m very confident in myself, I’m very confident in Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and my whole team and doing the right thing. I tell you, Jason – I’ve talked to him a ton. Everyday we’re on the phone, I’m at the shop talking to him, doing something with him. I think that’s gone along really well. Then, Jason is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s there all the time. Between Dave (Rogers, No. 18 crew chief) and Jason, I’ve seen them on the Nationwide side before and those two will keep getting each other to work harder and harder and they’re going to do that over here on the Cup side along with Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief) involved with that too, it’s going to be unreal. I’m pretty pumped up about it. I think there are some really good changes at Joe Gibbs Racing that I think are going to help all three teams.”

Is it important for you to make the Chase this year?

“Yes, it’s a hard to set goals. You go to race track to win every one of them, so I think everyone’s goal is to win a championship. I think you have to shoot for the moon. That’s the only way you are going to do it. If you just shoot for making the Chase, that’s all you’re going to do. You’re not going to do anything better than that. I think you have to shoot for the moon and keep shooting for that and see what comes out of it.”

Have you experienced any changes since Darian Grubb joined Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Yeah, I think it’s refreshing. There’s new faces and there’s new changes. I think bringing Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) in and Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief), both of them are bringing a lot of new energy and a lot of new life. I think it’s something that was needed to be done. I think Joe (Gibbs, team owner) and J.D. (Gibbs, team president) made some really good calls. I know they’re tough decisions. I couldn’t imagine being put in that spot. I think it’s the right thing for our race teams and we’ll make it happen.”

What lessons have you learned in your racing career?

“When you’re little and your mother is like, ‘You just wait, I’m stupid right now but you’ll get older and discover how smart I was.’ Yeah, that was the same thing, but in racing for me. Obviously you want to be confident, you need to think that you know a lot and think that you’re the best race car driver out there. But, at the same time you have to be humble and go ask questions, talk to the guys — do whatever you can to make yourself a better race car driver. I’ve learned that stuff very quickly. It’s something that is a very valuable experience. I’m going to take that in the rest of my life, whether that’s in racing or not.”

Is this going to be a make it or break it year for you?

“I don’t make anything of it. It’s no difference to me. You should treat every year like it’s a make it or break it year. So, what’s the difference? That’s how I look at it. I should go out there and try to win every race, whether it’s contract year or not. There’s no difference there for me.”

Was last season a disappointing year for you?

“Obviously last year was a disappointment I think for all three teams. I can speak for myself — that was terrible last year. We did everything as a team completely wrong in a lot cases, whether it’s driver mistakes, team mistakes — whatever it was, we weren’t on it. With a year like that, talk about being humble, that will humble you in a hurry. That’s when you have to dig down deep. You don’t want to do that again. It was seriously no fun at all to do something like that. That motivates you a ton to go out there and do a lot better. I know I have the guys behind me now. I’m very confident going into this season, probably more confident than I’ve ever been going into a season. Obviously with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief), signing on a new sponsor like Dollar General, that brings some new life into the team, too. We’re excited about that.”

What can you do to make yourself better?

“You can’t just pin point one thing. There’s a lot of different things. I can say now, I feel like I’m a lot more involved with what’s going on with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) — I feel like we’re working on the same level now. We’re bouncing ideas off of each other a lot more. The communication is huge. If you wanted to point out one thing, it would be communication and I feel that’s going to come naturally with me and Jason.”

Does getting a new sponsor this season put pressure on you?

“It is pressure bringing them in, but it’s confidence when you get them. Think about how hard it is to get a great company like Dollar General in our sport. It’s very hard to do, there are a lot of other teams out there trying to get them. A lot of other teams with great drivers trying to get them. For us to be able to reel them in and get them, that puts a lot of confidence in our team and myself for sure.”

How have you been able to be positive with what your team experienced last year?

“Positive thinking is very important no matter what is going on. That’s something I’ve learned more this last year than I’ve ever thought of. I went to a sports psychologist, you talk to those people and you find a new way of going to a race track and a new whole way of thinking about a lot of things. That’s very, very important. I was able to see the gains you can make in that stuff. That’s the stuff when you’re down, you look at anything. I think that was some really good things to look at. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) is good in that department.”

Joey Logano 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Photos

Joey Logano 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Video

Joey Logano 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Audio

During the morning session the number 20 team ran single car runs only. During the afternoon session, the team ran with other drivers in a pack.

Joey Logano Daytona Testing Photos

As a result of rules changes made by NASCAR, cars were allowed to draft during the morning session, but Joe Gibbs Racing opted to wait until the afternoon session to draft with other cars.

Joey Logano Quotes

What did you learn in this morning’s test session?

“We’ve made single-car runs all morning, so I don’t have anything exciting to tell you. Just making changes and go out there and try it again.”

Jason Ratcliff Quotes

How did the car perform this morning with the new restrictor plate?

“It’s picked up on average about seven-tenths, which is usually what we calculate for that plate change. I think we had a little better day again at our qualifying single car runs. The wind — there was none this morning so it was perfect conditions for trying things like that. If we made six runs, I feel like we made gains on four of them. It was a good morning for us. Other than that, we’re going to get geared up now. NASCAR has requested or asked to see if we can get 10-plus cars out there with this package and really get a good feel. Yesterday there was a lot of tandem cars. We would see maybe three cars in a group at the same time. We really need a good 15-plus cars out there to really get a good feel for how this deal is going to work. We’re going to get geared up, have some lunch here and at one o’clock we’ll go out there and try that.”

Do you think NASCAR will be able to bring back the ‘drafting pack’?

“I think everybody is still going to make a strong effort to do the tandem because there is so much speed. Now that they’re (NASCAR) putting a lot more horsepower back in the cars, the disparity between two cars and one or two cars and four — they’re going to close that up I think quite a bit. They’re going to make another jump on closing the grill down a little bit. That’s what we struggled with the most yesterday, which obviously is intentional by NASCAR is getting that nose peeked out there so we can get some air in the radiator. Now they’re going to make that a little more difficult so you can get out so far to get air in there to the point that eventually you start killing the speed again and then the tandem even gets closer to the four or five car drafts. They’re working it in the right direction. I think it’s going to be interesting to see. It’s so close right now that if you start pushing the water temp too close and you get in a large pack and you can’t get clean air on the nose you’re going to get beyond your limits and the risk is not going to be worth the reward. You have to kind of play that out. It doesn’t do you any good if you can’t be there at the end. We have to work through that and let Joey (Logano) go play with it and see where that limit is going to be and let him figure out, ‘Hey, if I get close here, how much do I need to back up to get some air on the grill?’ It should be interesting.”

Joey Logano Daytona Testing Photos

Saturday, January 13, 2012 Sessions

• 9AM to 12 PM on online stream at SPEED
• 1 PM to 5 PM on SPEED TV

All times posted above are eastern time.

Joey Logano Daytona Testing Day One Practice Results

During the morning session teams were restricted to single car runs only. NASCAR permitted cars to draft together during the afternoon session, but only a handful of drivers did so.

Joey Logano Quotes

How did the two-car tandem work with you and Kyle Busch?

“Oh man, we we’re pushing like crazy. It was alright. It was okay. We’re just working with what we need to do to try to be able to do it again with the rules changes and stuff like that. It’s made it super hard. It works good in practice right now, but when we get a bunch of cars around us in a racing situation, it’s probably not going to work as good. We’ll kind of see what happens. I wish we could get a lot of cars out there and I think that will be happening in the next couple of days, maybe tomorrow. I’m sure there will be a lot more cars out their drafting. Hopefully, something like that happens and it comes along good and we’ll have a better read than where we are at. We’re trying some things — trying to keep our car as cool as we can, some handling things, getting pushed and stuff like that.”

What do you anticipate in a big group?

“I wish we got more cars out there today to know for sure, but I really think that we’re not going to be pushing as much. I think there will be a little bit of pushing and I think there will be a lot of old school draft, or whatever you want to call it. I think a lot of people are going to save it until the end and a lot of people won’t be able to do it for a very long time. I think it’s going to kind of look like the races when we first started to figure out how to do this two-car draft and only some people were doing it and some other people were just doing the regular draft. All that is probably going to look similar to that than what we had before.”

What are your thoughts on eliminating the in-race communication between drivers?

“I’m hoping they change that back, because it ain’t going to pretty if we can’t talk to each other.”

Jason Ratcliff Quotes

How do you feel about becoming the crew chief for the No. 20 Sprint Cup Camry?

“It’s very exciting. When I look at it from a family perspective — my wife and I — we’ve often thought being in this sport, ‘Will this day come?’ And if it does, ‘What’s the best timing for us?’ Really I can’t think of a better time as far as my family goes. I’m excited about it and I’m excited about working with Joey (Logano). We have a championship race team over here and he’s pumped up. He’s looking forward to it. They have a good group. We need to get faster race cars and I know our engineers and then also bringing Darian (Grubb, crew chief No. 11) — it’s kind of opened up this whole process a little bit in some different areas and with myself as well. Hopefully I can bring some new ideas over here too. It’s going to be fun and we’re looking forward to it. So far everything is going well. Nothing crazy — it is Daytona. Right now the biggest frustrations we have are the wind and the seagulls. Other than that, it’s all good.”

What is it like to walk into Daytona as a Sprint Cup crew chief?

“It’s different just because I see different faces. I made so many friends over on the other side and I’m sure I will here as well. A lot of new faces so just getting familiar with these guys — that’s the biggest change. Different color on the truck — I almost climbed on the 18 truck earlier. I have to get used to that. On my desktop computer I put a big 20 on it so it would help me get acclimated with that part. Just new faces and new officials — getting comfortable with that. I walked in earlier and talked to Mr. (John) Darby (NSCS Director) and I knew him from the Busch (Nationwide) Series. I am just looking forward to meeting some new friends.”

What are your goals for the Daytona test?

“In the past we’ve struggled a little bit on our qualifying stuff and our aero department and engine department — all of it — they have really worked hard at qualifying. Here at Daytona qualifying is what it is, but you want to come down here at Speedweeks and represent your sponsor and your team by putting up a good lap. So far, it appears as though we have made some gains over the winter compared to the competition. Probably made those gains in a lot of different areas so we’re pumped about that. We have a little ways to go to catch some of these guys, but I think we’re halfway there as long as everybody else isn’t sandbagging on us. Our goal realistically is to hopefully improve our single car stuff and we’ll get out there and start pushing each other after a while and see how that goes.”

How has the transition to TRD engines and EFI been for you?

“I’m not really a good judge to how much different it is than it was before. Really, it’s the same group of people — we’ve always worked really close with TRD in the past so no real new faces there. It’s exciting to kind of get a little closer and kind of close that communication a little bit and work a little closer together. In the EFI stuff, it’s new for everybody so I hope that if there’s any area that maybe I’m coming in on the same playing field — that’s the only one because it’s new for everybody. So far it’s going good.”

How was your first day of testing at Daytona?

“It went good. We started off just making some single car runs and felt like we found a few things. We found some speed. Our drafting stuff — the biggest thing with the rule changes that NASCAR has come out with this year and just trying to figure that out and see how it’s going to affect our cars cooling wise, the spoiler is a lot smaller and just working through some stability things and trying to get the drivers comfortable to where they can draft. The thing we don’t know yet is when you get 15 or 30 cars out there together, that’s what we’re trying to prepare for. Until you do it, you really don’t know what you’ve got. We learned some things there, we made a lot of chassis adjustments and obviously going through the new EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) stuff and trying to get familiar with that. It was a good day. We’ve got a couple more days here and I think we’ll learn a lot.”

Is there a bigger risk with the two-car tandem with the new rules?

“There is because you’re cutting it way too close. You can stay together, but you have to sacrifice speed to do it. You have to tuck out and get some air on the nose and as you do that you continue to slow the car down. Again, when you get seven or eight groups out there doing that it’s going to be a different ball game. It will be interesting. Hopefully, tomorrow we will get more guys out there drafting and get some more tandems out there and see how it works out. One time there we got three cars — all three Joe Gibbs (Racing) cars out there just to see how that would work out and it was okay. The speed wasn’t there. You have to weigh it all out and by the time you do the swap every two or two-and-a-half laps then you figure all that in — we’re just trying to weigh all our options and go back and lay it all out on the table and see what’s best.”

What do you think we will see in the race in February?

“I think you’re going to see bigger packs just because guys can’t stay tucked up like they could before. The cars are going to get too hot. Today we were able to communicate fairly well, but I think they’re talking about taking some of the communication away between the drivers — for safety reasons. A lot of times you get a lot of chatter and you don’t really know who to listen to and who not to listen to. NASCAR is looking at that and so that’s something we have to think through as well, but I think it will be more packed up. You’ll see two-car tandems, but they’re not going to be driving away from the rest of them like we’ve seen in the past.”

Joey Logano Daytona Testing Photos

Friday, January 13, 2012 Sessions

• 9AM to 12 PM on online stream at SPEED
• 1 PM to 5 PM on SPEED TV

Saturday, January 13, 2012 Sessions

• 9AM to 12 PM on online stream at SPEED
• 1 PM to 5 PM on SPEED TV

All times posted above are eastern time.

“We appreciate everything Greg has done for us here at Joe Gibbs Racing. He has been a big part of our success, but we felt the timing was right to make this transition for our race team which allows Greg the opportunity to pursue a director of competition position with Tony (Stewart),” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “We also felt that the timing was right to bring Jason (Ratcliff) to our Cup operation. He is a proven leader with a tremendous track record in our Nationwide program and we think he and Joey will work well together.”

Ratcliff spent the previous seven years as crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Nationwide Series team. No team has been better over the past three seasons as the team won two consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championships in 2009 and 2010. They narrowly missed out on a third consecutive title this past season finishing just a few points off the pace in second. Over the past three seasons JGR’s No. 18 Nationwide Series team has won an incredible 30 races, with 68 top-five, and 85 top-ten finishes. In addition, they have led an astonishing 6,124 laps over that time.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to join our Cup operation and work with Joey and everyone on the 20 team,” said Ratcliff. “There is a great history with this program and we have two of the best sponsors in the sport with The Home Depot and Dollar General. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Joey a few times now on the Nationwide side so there is a familiarity there, but I’m looking forward to getting started fulltime and working alongside Dave (Rogers) and Darian (Grubb).”

Zipadelli has been the crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 program since the team was formed in 1999. Over the 13-year span he has won 33 total races and two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships with driver Tony Stewart (2002 and 2005). He was also on top of the pit box for Joey Logano’s first career victory in 2009 which made him the youngest driver ever to win on the Cup level. Zipadelli is leaving JGR to pursue an opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing.

“This has been a tough year, but I know we are going to come back stronger than ever next year,” said Logano. “I can’t thank my team and The Home Depot enough this year, I know this isn’t the season we hoped for. We will take some time off, regroup and prepare ourselves for a better 2012 season.”

Logano started the Ford 400 from the 32nd position and had gained a few spots when the first rain shower hit the track on lap 12 bringing out the caution. Logano told crew chief Greg Zipadelli the car was loose on entry and exit of the corner but tight in the center. The Home Depot pit crew made a chassis adjustment and fitted the car with fresh tires. Logano worked his way into the top 25 on lap 39 but was still having trouble getting the car to turn. He made a green-flag stop on lap 77 shortly before the No. 6 car lost its engine to bring out the caution.

At lap 100 of 267 Logano told the team the center was turning better, but a rain shower brought out the caution on lap 107 and the red flag on lap 109. Following the delay, the team pitted on lap 113 and restarted from the 14th position. The Home Depot Toyota was loose at the start of the run, but still tightened up throughout the run. A multi-car incident brought out the yellow flag again on lap 153 and several teams elected to remain on the track or take just right-side tires. Zipadeli called for a four-tire stop to continue to work on the handling of the car. When racing resumed Logano was 15th.

Logano dropped back to 19th when green-flag stops began again on a lap 193. The Home Depot Toyota was getting better fuel mileage than most, so Zipadelli kept Logano on the track until lap 210 knowing the car could make it to the end on fuel while most of the team’s competitors would have to make one more stop. However, another rain show fell over Homestead-Miami Speedway on lap 213 and NASCAR kept the cars on the track under caution for 17 laps giving other teams the opportunity to save fuel and take the advantage away from the No. 20 team.

Racing resumed again on lap 230 with Logano in the 22nd position. He battled his way up to 19th before the checkered flag waved on lap 267. Logano’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch finished ninth and 23rd respectively. Logano ended the season 24th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings.

The Home Depot Team and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series return to the track in February 2012 for the running of the Daytona 500 and the start of the new season.

Joey Logano Ford 400 Photos

Related Articles

• Joey Logano Ford 400 Qualifying Results
• Joey Logano Ford 400 Practice Results
• Joey Logano Ford 400 Friday Results
• Joey Logano 2011 Ford 400 Preview

Joey Logano Ford 400 Video

Ford 400 Qualifying Results

Joey Logano Ford 400 Photos

Sunday, November 20, 2011 Session

• Ford 400 on ESPN2 at 4:30 pm ET