Take that Joey Logano haters

 

   Joey Logano's Sprint Cup Series win was big for several reasons, including giving the driver of the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford a chance to make the Chase for the first time.

   Teammate Brad Keselowski was a big proponent of Logano getting the No. 22 ride and obviously, owner Roger Penske wouldn't have hired him if he were not talented. I asked Logano on Friday if he honestly had some self-satisfaction after winning last Sunday toward the people who doubted whether he belonged at Penske or would have preferred another driver in the ride.

   Here was Logano's answer:

   “Of course. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t. Anytime you win it’s kind of like an in-your-face thing. You want to do that.  We’re all competitors, so we’re gonna be excited when we win and I feel like I’m very privileged to be sitting in the seat that I’m in right now with a great team. Roger, I could never ask to work for someone better than that. He’s an amazing person, so it’s the best second chance I could ever have, obviously, and it will really be the best chance I’ll ever have, so I’m having a lot of fun with it," he said.

   "Yes, it was important for me to go out there and run well, and it is important for me to win races, especially after last year and going through all of that."

Brian Vickers has lost his crew chief before he started the fulltime ride

   When Brian Vickers was recently announced as the fulltime driver of Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 Toyota for the 2014 season, one of things he said he looked forward to was working more with the team's crew chief, Rodney Childers. The past two seasons, Vickers has shared the No. 55 ride with veteran Mark Martin.

   As it turns out, Vickers won't be working with Childers beyond this season.

   MWR officials confirmed Friday that Childers would not be returning to the organization next season and Vickers would get a new crew chief.

   Sources say Childers is headed to Stewart-Haas Racing where he will be paired next season with new driver Kevin Harvick. An SHR official said no new crew chiefs had been hired for 2014 but the organization thinks highly of Childers and he is on the "short list" of candidates.

   Friday at Bristol, Childress said his future location wasn't "100 percent done" but he would not be back at MWR.

   "I think everybody has a good idea what it is," Childers said of his new job. "There was not one big thing that stood out. MWR has been great for five years.

   "I've thought about this for a long time. I just woke up one day and this is what my heart told me to do. Hopefully, it all works out."