Logano wins NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown

The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown came down to a battle of teenagers as Joey Logano and Sergio Pena challenged each other in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,500 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
The 19-year-old Logano beat the unknown 16-year-old Pena by 0.0584 seconds and won his second Showdown race. Logano was making his third Showdown start and won the race in 2007. He actually crossed the finish line first in 2009, but only after crashing with Peyton Sellers on the last lap of that race. Both drivers were penalized for rough driving and Matt Kobyluck was awarded the win.
When Logano was announced as a two-time winner of the Showdown, he tried to correct the announcer by saying it was his third win.
Pena gave Logano all he could handle, but Logano had the advantage on restarts. Logano led for most of the final segment of the race, but said he was unsure of victory until the final turn.
"He was good. I knew from the start if he ever got by me, it was game over," Logano said. "I knew I had to be methodical with every move I made."
When the cars came in for mandatory pit stops on lap 201, Pena was in the lead. He lost his lead to Logano on the restart. Michael Self crashed into the turn 3 wall with 10 laps to go and brought out a red flag. When the race resumed, Logano jumped out in the lead and held on over the final eight laps of the race.
"A lot of things were going through my head," Logano said. "They put together a good car for me. We didn't know what we were going to have."
Logano was impressed with the way Pena raced. Pena won the pole and led the first lap of the race. Logano led the next 99 and was in the lead for the first round of mandatory pit stops on lap 100.
"Experience was the biggest thing on my side tonight," Logano said. "It was one of the few times I've had experience on my side. We ran each other hard from lap 1."
Pena and Logano swapped the lead a number of times during the second 100 laps of the race. Pena was able to build a considerable lead on Logano and the field, but restarts reeled Pena back to the pack.
"He will figure it out," Logano said. "He was a quick study. I was wondering the whole time how much I was going to show him. He did the same moves I did on him. He'll be here for a while."

Photo: Sergio Pena and Joey Logano following qualifying for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR)