The Sprint Cup rookie even had a good excuse.
Logano, an 18-year-old rising star at Joe Gibbs Racing, was completing the final laps of the ARCA race around Daytona International Speedway. He finished second, just behind James Buescher.
"We tried, we tried, you know, did everything that we can do," said Logano, who overcame a one-lap penalty early in the race because of a pit-road violation. "Just digging on our way up there."
Logano got out of his car after the race ended and started running to the drivers meeting, but showed up right at the end. Even though fellow drivers felt he should have been allowed to keep his 19th starting spot, NASCAR cut Logano no slack and enforced the standard penalty.
"Not much you can do about that," Logano said. "We tried. I got out and started running, but did not make it in time. It was not like we were starting on the pole. If we were, it would have been bad."
Logano ended up starting last in the 28-car field. But in a restrictor-place race at Daytona, starting in the back has never proven to be a huge obstacle. Nonetheless, Logano was more concerned with the experience he hoped to gain during the 75-lap, non-points event.
"Just gaining the experience and a lot of respect," he said. "Just to get ready for that 500. Everything else is just a bonus to us. Don't get me wrong, I would like to win. That's what I am here for, but we got to gain some respect first."
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FAST BILL: Two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott might be on the verge of a revival at NASCAR's most famous track.
Elliott, who last won the 500 in 1987, was the fastest of the 57 drivers in Saturday's morning practice. Elliott reached 187.645 mph on the 21/2-mile superspeedway, just ahead of Bobby Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Elliott, though, wasn't quite ready to celebrate. He thought he had an equally strong car last year at Daytona, but burned a gear in one of the twin 150-mile qualifying races and didn't finish high enough to get into the season-opening race.
"You can't tell about this business," Elliott said. "Right now, we just need to beat the go-or-go-homers. That's where we need to concentrate and let the rest of it fall where it may. We've got to not make any mistakes and see what tomorrow brings."
Elliott, scheduled to drive nine events for Wood Brothers Racing this season, could make next week's qualifying races moot by claiming one of the top two spots in Sunday's pole qualifying.
"That would be nice, but I don't want to talk about that yet," car co-owner Lee Wood said. "If we just do what we're supposed to and not beat ourselves, we should be fine."
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OFFICIALS REMEMBERED: NASCAR remembered longtime officials Robert "Hoot" Arlin Auton and Carl Wolf on Saturday.
Auton died last Sunday. He was 75. Auton worked as a NASCAR official for 37 years, starting at short tracks in the Whelen All-American Series and eventually working his way to the Sprint Cup Series.
Auton's two sons also work for NASCAR. Wayne Auton is director of the Camping World Truck Series. Robert "Buster" Auton is the sport's director of transportation.
Wolf, who spent the past 10 years working for NASCAR in a variety of capacities, died Friday following a lengthy illness. He was 70.
Wolf started out as NASCAR's supervisor of engine inspection for the Cup series. He spent the last six years in officiating training.
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ROOKIE PERSONALITY: Scott Speed, who could duel with 18-year-old Joey Logano for rookie of the year honors in this year's Cup series, isn't the shy, retiring type.
The 26-year-old's personality is sometimes over the top, often demonstrated by his choice of clothing, the dyed white hair he sported for a while and, most of all, a penchant for saying exactly what he is thinking.
"I've definitely got in trouble once or twice for wearing inappropriate T-shirts in the garage," the Red Bull Racing driver said. "I still have them. I have one of them in the motorhome. I just have to use better judgment. It's a much different culture to be in the NASCAR Cup garage than in the Formula One paddock."
Another big difference between NASCAR and F1 for Speed is what he is allowed to do away from the track.
"I got myself a bunch of snowboarding gear," he said. "When I was racing in Formula One for Red Bull, I wasn't able to do any wakeboarding or snowboarding or any of that, contractually. Now, I can do what I want, so I got myself a snowboard and all the gear and I've been tearing it up on the mountains all winter. It's been awesome."
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SAID SPONSOR: Even in a tough economy, some drivers are finding new sponsors for the Daytona 500. Two days after David Reutimann announced a full-season sponsorship deal with Aaron's, road-course specialist Boris Said said ScottsMiracle-Gro and Carter/Simo Racing will be onboard his No. 08 Ford at Daytona.
Said's best finish in two Daytona 500s was 14th in 2007. He's had more success in the July race, starting three times in the top eight and finishing fourth in 2006.
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