In limited Cup competition, both drivers have yet to prove themselves, but the handwriting is on the wall. In what was supposed to be his Cup debut, Logano posted one of the best practice sessions at Richmond International Raceway last fall before rain canceled qualifying.

In the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Speed had a car capable of stealing a top-10 before settling into a respectable 16th. Both the potential to run up front and the realization that circumstances and a lack of experience factored into his result were part of Speed's schooling, however.

"My expectations are to continue learning," Speed said. "Let's say at the last race of the year in Miami we had a great car, especially in qualifying, and in the race I think we definitely had a top-10 car that we probably could have finished in there.

"I ended up finishing 16th, which is probably a lucky 16th because we should have been more like 20th. That's where I would say I'm at right now in my progress. By the end of the year, I want to be able to finish in 10th if that's where my car is capable of finishing."

Although their path to NASCAR has not been parallel, these rookies are going to be close to one another all season. In the Bud Shootout, both drivers were hapless victims of a "Big One" crash and ended their race barely three laps into it.

During Sunday's pole qualifying for the Daytona 500, both drivers qualified in the front half of the pack. Speed posted the 17th-fastest time and will start Thursday's second Gatorade Twin 150 final qualifying Thursday in ninth. Logano was 21st fastest and starts the first 150 race in 10th.

The battle for top rookie honors over the course of the 36-race season is going to be hard fought, and both contenders believe they are up to the challenge.

"I think honestly it's going to be very interesting because we both have such different — we're rookies for such different reasons," Speed said. "Obviously, having come from such a big form of racing, I've gone through all the hype and dealing with the pressure and all that, and the pressure I have on me is for sure a hundredth of what he has.

"Then again (Logano) has so much more stock car experience and so much experience in these cars and probably handles himself better in the racing circumstance. It's really going to be interesting."

As for Logano, his expectations are single-minded: "I think we'll go for Raybestos Rookie of the Year. It's an achievement or accomplishment we can do this year. From there, (we'll) see how it goes."

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