For Logano, an imperfect victory at the perfect place (cont'd)

But Sunday was about Logano, who has battled through a rookie season that hasn't been easy on a driver who's been talked about since he was in middle school, and whose exploits in NASCAR's support series earned him the somewhat auspicious nickname of "Sliced Bread." Sunday's rain-shortened victory marked just the fourth time in 17 starts this season he's cracked the top 10. For car owner Joe Gibbs, hoping only for gradual progression from his promising yet relatively inexperienced rookie, the idea of winning never really seemed a realistic one.

"We were really looking for just constant improvement, and that's really what we've seen," Gibbs said. "I've mentioned the last seven, eight races we've battled back from some real tough things. We did at Sonoma and we did again [Sunday], and that's what we have been proud of. But what you see and what you saw in Joey, he continues to improve. Also, I think we all feel like at the end of the race, he's always better, running much harder, and I think that's going to bode well for us as we go forward and come back to these places a second time. And so anyway, we are really excited. I don't think you think of a rookie up here lots of times, particularly in Joey's case. So young, no testing, and so I don't think [winning] was our mindset. You hope, you hope you would win one, but I think we were being a little more realistic than that probably."

Even Logano will admit, his entrance into the sport's top level has had some dizzying swings. "I go up and down, up and down, up and down. And that is part of this sport," he said. Not even the trip to Loudon seemed to offer much relief; earlier in the week, Logano was quick to point out that he doesn't have as many laps around the flat oval as many assume he does. He came to New Hampshire with the same mentality he carries to every track, and the goal of simply doing his best.

But winning? In the wet aftermath Sunday, it was clear it hadn't yet sunk in. For someone not yet 20, he seemed more amazed than overwhelmed by what he had accomplished, and where he had accomplished it.

"Obviously, yeah, you want to win at home tracks like this. Zippy definitely wanted to win here. We were talking earlier, he said before this weekend, he goes, 'We've ran good here forever, and it's not going to change this weekend.' You know, he was right, I guess," Logano said.

"I think your first win, no matter where it's at, is huge. Obviously it's not the way you want to win your first race, in the rain, but 20 years down the road when you look in the record books, no one will know the difference. I'll take them any way I can. This is my home track and where I watched my first Cup race. And Zippy, all of the guys, a lot of the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing are from the Northeast, so it's cool to get a win here."