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NASCAR America: Quick start has Joey Logano leading Cup points

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Todd Gordon, Joey Logano's crew chief, discussed Daytona, Kevin Harvick's incredible speed and why Las Vegas will be helpful later in the season.

While it’s only two races into the season, there’s a much better feeling about things for Joey Logano’s team compared to last year.

After failing to make the playoffs in 2017 — his win at Richmond didn’t count toward eligibility after a post-race infraction — Logano is leading the points after two races this season. Logano finished fourth in the Daytona 500 and sixth last weekend at Atlanta.

“Last year was a lot of learning,’’ crew chief Todd Gordon told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “It was probably the biggest struggle that we’ve had since Joey has been over here. Didn’t measure up to any of the seasons previously. That caused a lot of inward thinking and looking about what we could do to make our program better. I think we’ve focused on some of those things and they’ve shown some reward.’’

Next for the team is this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Logano finished fourth there last year. Penske teammate Brad Keselowski was fifth in that race.

“It’s a racetrack that we’ve gone to and had success with,’’ Gordon said. “I think it’s a better indication of where your program is going forward. It’s a higher grip racetrack and it’s got less fall-off than we saw at Atlanta, where you just have to conserve tires. It’s more of what your intermediate (track) racing will be like.’’

For more on what Gordon said about the start of the season for the No. 22, check out the video above.