Logano: Eye on the ball

RICHMOND, Va - On the verge of making the Chase for the first time in his career, Joey Logano will do his best to accentuate the positive in Saturday night’s race.

Logano is only too aware that thinking about what might go wrong can lead to costly mistakes. Accordingly, he’ll do his best to keep his mind off the possible negatives.

"Obviously, you think about that stuff because you’re a little nervous about it," said Logano, who is eighth in the standings, 16 points ahead of Jeff Gordon in 11th. "Hopefully, the motor holds together, hopefully the tires don’t blow out, and hopefully I don’t make a mistake. Really, is that going to make my race car go any faster, thinking about that stuff? No.

"As a whole team, as a tire carrier, stud the tire perfectly. If you’re the crew chief calling the race, that’s all you have to think about. If you’re the driver, think about making the car go as fast as it possibly can. When you start thinking about all the things that can go wrong, that’s when something is going to go wrong, because that’s when your mind is not in the right spot.

"So, mentally, we have to be tough this weekend."

By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service