Boy, Wonder? Teen sensation Joey Logano prepares for his full-season assault on Sprint Cup.(NEWS)

Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH

SAY, JOEY LOGANO, YOU'RE 18 and about to become the youngest driver ever to race in the Daytona 500. At what point did you think you wanted to race for the rest of your life?

"Always. When I was three years old, I had race-car wall-paper, a race-car bed, race-car toys. That was all I wanted. And nothing has changed. Except I don't have a race-car bed anymore.

Nicknamed "Sliced Bread by former NASCAR racer Randy LaJoie (as in "the greatest thing since . . .), he is preordained as the NASCAR story of 2009. Connecticut's Logano six feet, one inch, 140 pounds, with a quick smile and an absolutely puzzling, pleasant absence of self-awarenessstarts the Sprint Cup season behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 Toyota Camry, the ride vacated by two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart and masterminded by top crew chief Greg Zipadelli.

Gibbs's Aug. 25 announcement that Logano would take over was a little surprising, since the kid had no Cup races under his belt. He did well in Gibbs's very fast Nationwide Series car, winning his third race, and he also won his first ARCA series event. Logano ran a couple of Cup races later in 2008 but could not crack the top 30. So, is he ready for a move of this magnitude?

"I started seeing Joey race when he was 10, said NASCAR veteran Mark Martin. "You just had to watch him. You don't have to be a brain surgeon. All you had to do is watch, and you could see how incredible a talent he was.

Take that as a yes, even though some suggested that Logano won in lower series because his father, Tom, put him in the best equipment.