Published: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 07:13 AM

The pressure is on for 'Sliced Bread' Logano in NASCAR Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joey Logano knows it's coming. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing might be young, but he knows the drill.

"That's up to you guys," Logano says when reporters ask how he thinks he'll be evaluated in his first season at NASCAR's top level. "I don't know."

It's not fair to say he doesn't care, either, but even though he's only 18 years old he knows there are things about that that are beyond his control.

"I'm focused on what I've got to do and I'm doing the best I can," he says. "I know there are a lot of expectations out there, but at the same time you've got to give me a chance and give me some time. ... I've got a great team. I know that. The only thing I lack is experience right now and I know that. But the only way you can do it is to be out on the race track, so that's what I'm doing."

Logano is guaranteed a spot in Sunday's Daytona 500, so no matter how fast he goes in today's qualifying he will become the youngest driver ever to participate in the sports biggest event.

Logano won't turn 19 until May 4, and if he wins before Sept. 5, 2010, he'd become the youngest race winner in Cup history. Kyle Busch, Logano's teammate, holds that record at 20 years, 4 months and 2 days.

When does Logano feel he'll be ready to win? How about now?

"We're going to try to win every race," Logano said. "I think that's the right attitude to go into it. Realistically, it's really hard. This is the top, the best of the best and winning a race here is harder than anything else. We're going to try really hard. I know I've got a team that can do it."

Logano made three Cup starts last year, but his best finish was 32nd. That, his detractors claim, shows he's being pushed too far, too fast. But none of those races came in the No. 20 car, with crew chief Greg Zipadelli and his team working on them. In 19 Nationwide starts after he reached his 18th birthday, Logano won once and had 14 finishes in the top 10.

"He wants to do this," says Zipadelli, who stayed on to work with Logano when Tony Stewart left after a 10-year run with the No. 20 team. "His biggest struggle is going to be figuring out why he didn't run well. Was it him, was it him not being able to tell us, was it me not being able to figure out what he was saying, did we just do the wrong things? That's where our bad days are going to come from."

The pressure comes from all sides. First, there's the fact that he has one of the sport's top seats at such a young age. Second, there's all of the talk about his talent that has preceded him -- Mark Martin started predicting great things for Logano several years ago.

Then there's the nickname, one Randy LaJoie is credited with hanging on Logano.

"It was a joke between friends," Logano says. "That's what people have got to realize."

In light of talk about Logano's potential, LaJoie called him Sliced Bread, as in the best thing since. It became a running joke. LaJoie's son, Cory, came to be Super Shoe. Brandon McReynolds, Larry's son, was The Franchise.

"We were just having a good time," Logano says. "Now it makes me cringe."

Logano never said he's better than the people he'll now be racing against in stock car racing's top series. To the contrary, he's always wanted to compete at the next level.

"At age 9 I started racing people that were better than me at the time," he said. "I think that's what always makes you better. If you race against people around you that are as good or not as good as you, how are you going to learn? How are you going to learn if you win every single race?

"I think always putting myself in that position of people that are better than me has gotten me to this point so far."

Now that he's made it to the top rung of NASCAR's ladder, Logano also knows that eventually it won't be potential that pays the rent.

"I was very fortunate to get this ride, I'm the most fortunate kid in the world for that," he said. "I'm very lucky. I know there's a lot of people out there trying hard -- a lot of my friends are the same way. It's so hard to get a ride these days. You feel luckier to be where you're at. It makes you work harder and motivates you and makes you do better."