The new kid in town

DOVER, Del. – The kid is good.

No, make that better than good.

Joey Logano is the real deal.

The racing sensation finally got his long-awaited chance to play with the big kids.

And the big kids played nice with him.

On Saturday afternoon, Logano finished a respectable sixth in his Nationwide Series debut behind five drivers that were either current or former Sprint Cup regulars.

That's usually considered a good finish by any measure for a driver in one of NASCAR's premier series.

But, it's not good enough for this rookie.

"It wasn't what I was looking for," said Logano. "I won't be happy until I win."

The 200-mile race wasn't a cakewalk for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

A snafu in the pits early on forced Logano to have to earn his top 10 finish the hard way, passing more than half the field while trying to get back to the front. In doing so, he displayed the kind of skill usually expected by drivers with far more experience than one who celebrated his 18th birthday a week earlier.

Once back racing with the leaders, it looked as though he might score a top five finish. But a late race pass to the outside by Cup regular Greg Biffle pushed the youngster back a spot and he was forced to settle for sixth.

Throughout the race, Logano remained a cool customer over his team radio, never showing much emotion, except after the pit incident.

It was then that he showed the kind of emotion expected of a teenager, expressing frustration and sorrow to his team.

"At that point, I was pretty ticked off at myself," said Logano.

After reassurances by his spotter that there was a long race ahead of him, Logano put his head back into the race and tackled the task at hand.

Among the crowd (estimated at 20,000) that stayed three hours to see the start of the weather-delayed race were marketing executives from GameStop, the Texas-based gaming retailer that recently signed on as the sponsor of Logano's Nationwide effort.

During the entire race, they were high-fiving each other, hoisting their fists into the air and appearing very pleased that they had partnered their company with the right driver.

"What an incredible race," one of the GameStop executives said after the race. "We're extremely proud to be part of Joe Gibbs Racing. Joey brought power to the players today."

Team owner J.D. Gibbs watched the action with the anxiety of a father watching his son play his first football game.

With one eye on his driver Denny Hamlin, leading the race and fighting off a late-race charge from defending series champion Carl Edwards, Gibbs kept his other eye on newcomer Logano, who was hanging tough with a rough crowd at the front of the field.

"It was nerve-racking," said Gibbs en route to congratulate race winner Hamlin. "I think he (Logano) made the most of what he had. They kept working on that car and he wasn't going to finish a whole lot better than that."

With 30 laps remaining, Logano called teammate Hamlin over the team's private radio channel for some advice in the closing laps.

Hamlin admitted that he enjoys playing the role of mentor to Logano.

"You definitely feel like you want to be the person that he can turn to and not be afraid to turn to for some advice," said Hamlin. "You like to have someone looking up to you and kind of having someone that you can guide along and show the right and wrong way to do things."

In the Nationwide garage after the race, Logano said he was worried that during the closing laps he drove his Toyota so hard into the corners that he nearly wore his right front tire off trying to get back up to the front to race with the Cup regulars.

But, it was fun racing against the Cup drivers.

"They're real good racers," said Logano. "It's cool running up with those guys. They give you room early in the race. Then, when there's 20 or 30 laps to go, they race you really hard. But, they race you clean."

Logano not only exceeded the expectations built up by the pre-race hype surrounding his debut – which at times bordered on the ridiculous – he proved to everyone that he can hold his own amongst the top drivers in NASCAR.

Of course, it shouldn't be overlooked that he was driving for the team that has won six of the 14 races this season in the Nationwide Series.

Still, it takes great talent to get the most out of the best. Logano proved that he's got the talent and confidence that can take him to the uppermost levels of NASCAR.

Logano exhibits the kind of confidence that is reminiscent of another young Joe Gibbs Racing driver, one who is currently riding a hot streak that has him sitting atop the driver standings.

Move over Rowdy Busch, there's (literally) a new kid in town.