Joey Logano learned from ’15, has championship hopes for ’16

Joey Logano says he has put what he calls a successful 2015 NASCAR season behind him.

“You just do that automatically,” said Logano during Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Media Tour on Wednesday. “As a competitor and athlete, you learn from it. It doesn’t matter what you are – a media member, an accountant, a race car driver … you take what you learned and apply it.”

Logano’s 2015 season might also have been described as “controversial” and even “disappointing.”

During a stretch in which he swept all three races in the second round of the Chase, Logano bumped Matt Kenseth out of the way to win at Kansas. Two weeks later at Martinsville, Kenseth retaliated, crashing into Logano at Martinsville and effectively ending Logano’s chances at winning his first title.

How Logano and Kenseth – who was suspended for two races – raced each other has been one of NASCAR’s most discussed topics in the offseason.

“I’m sure this will go away,” said Logano. “We had a discussion with NASCAR at (the season-ending race at) Homestead. I got off my chest what I needed to say. Hopefully Matt did, too.”

Logano continues to be disappointed in how fans cheered Kenseth when he wrecked Logano at Martinsville.

“Fans are passionate, and I do appreciate that,” Logano said. “Do I understand why fans cheer when somebody crashes? No, I don’t. It’s not what our sport is made of. But sometimes you’re the one who’s the most liked, and sometimes they don’t all like you. That’s how it goes.

“I am who I am. I can’t speak of anybody who can judge me. I know internally the things I need to work on as a person and that’s something I strive for every day.”

Although Logano eventually finished sixth in the standings and spent much of his time answering to his confrontations with Kenseth, he remains happy with how the season went.

“It’s hard not to be,” he said. “Most wins (six), most poles (six), 22 top-fives. Those are championship stats.”

Logano didn’t even mention winning the Daytona 500, which he did last February.

“We don’t have the (Cup) trophy,” he said. “We were close. We know how to do it. It’s not going to be a fluke when it happens. We just have to go out and do it.”

Media tour notes

▪ Landon Cassill will join rookie Chris Buescher at Front Row Racing, the team announced. Driving for Hillman Racing in 2015, Cassill’s best finish was 13th at Daytona’s July race. Cassill, 26, has 187 Cup starts in six seasons.

▪ Richard Petty Motorsports announced that rookie Brian Scott will drive the team’s No. 44 Ford this season and will have primary sponsorship from Albertsons Companies and Shore Lodge. The news wasn’t unexpected: Shore Lodge had been a sponsor of Scott when he was driving in the Xfinity series and Scott’s father Dan is president and general manager of the resort.

▪ Roush Fenway Racing didn’t have a driver in the Chase last season for the first time since the format was introduced in 2004. The team added three members to its competition group recently: Kurt Romberg (technical director of aerodynamics), Kent Day (manager of simulation) and Vojin Jaksic (research and development/special projects manager).

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Joey Logano learned from ’15, has championship hopes for ’16."