By Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal from Race Day on Fox Sports Radio. Heard Sunday mornings from 6-9am (eastern) on 220 FOX Sports Radio Affiliates and XM Radio Channel 142.

The 2009 Rookie of the Year battle has already begun. Joey Logano and Scott Speed will go head to head in several series, including the Sprint Cup Series, before the flag falls at the 2009 Daytona 500 in February. We have seen both of these drivers win in other series and both have seemingly experienced a meteoric rise. That, like so many ‘overnight sensations’, would be a false assumption. Many in the industry who witnessed Logano’s rise through the ranks on the short tracks of America feel he’s a shoe in for the title. Mark Martin is certainly one of those having repeatedly stated, when Logano was fifteen, “He’s the real deal”. In fact, that message became so ingrained in the NASCAR lexicon that he now has the nickname, ‘Sliced Bread’.

However, a driver that emerged on the scene last year may spoil the aspirations of Logano. That driver is American Scott Speed. Scott Speed was unceremoniously dumped from the Formula One team, Toro Rosso two years ago amid physical altercations with the team director, open press arguments and name calling between himself and team principal, Gerhard Berger. This left the relationship in shambles, the remaining Formula One teams unwilling to look further at him and Speed stating that “there is not enough money in the world for me to stay with this team”.

Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of Red Bull, felt he owed Scott Speed a chance to continue racing under the Red Bull banner and has made good on that promise. Speed had his choice of where to race and he chose coming back to America to take on NASCAR. To be sure, an active Formula One driver making that move is no longer a precedent, given Montoya’s shocking switch from a world championship team, McLaren, to Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR Dodge team. The difference is Red Bull had put Speed on a ‘training’ program with ARCA, which he leads in points, and the NCTS where he already has one win. He’s going into his Sprint Cup debut at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with a baseline of experience underneath him, albeit abbreviated. Speed is 25 years old.

Taking a completely different, and more traditional path, Joey Logano made his mark in every series in which he’s participated including the Nationwide series with top ten finishes and a win. He recently made his debut with Hall Of Fame Racing in Sprint Cup at Kansas, but did not achieve the results he wanted and it showed in his face. But will the switch to a Joe Gibbs run car in Atlanta make the difference? According to Logano, “We’re going to run the No. 02 Home Depot Toyota in Atlanta and possibly a couple more races. I feel like I’m going to be in a really good car”.

Meanwhile, as if no one was watching they raced each other in both the NCTS and ARCA races this past weekend. They both ran up front in both series and both had troubles that either put them out of the races or kept them from bringing home stellar finishes.  Logano lost a right-side window in the truck race losing him precious laps and Scott Speed had a tire go nuclear in the ARCA race but still holds the points lead by 85 points heading to the season final at Toledo next weekend.

Justin Allgaier, with no drafting help, drove to the outside of Logano which let Allgaier sail away with the biggest victory of his career and Logano who knew he had been schooled. “I don’t know; I did everything I could do; I just got beat,” said Logano. “He just schooled me. I learned a lot and I will do things different next time. That was a lot of hard work a lot of hard hours by all those guys. I’m just mad that I didn’t live up to it for them.” The self-inflicted pressure from Logano shows through.

Scott Speed had virtually nothing to say about his tire problems. In both instances these two drivers were up front and posturing for a potential win. It’s obvious that the two have taken different paths to achieve the same end. To win.

If you compare the experiences of the two drivers you find two starkly different personalities. One is intense, driven, self-critical and under pressure. That’s Logano. The other has exudes liaise faire attitudes, feels no pressure and paints his toenails now and again. We know who that is. Both have paid their dues rising to their present levels and both are inveterate competitors. The difference between Joey Logano and Scott Speed is that Speed has experienced pressure at a level that no other sport can produce, Formula One. In Formula One, the teammates hate each other, the drivers hate the team principals and the team principals consider the drivers nothing more than robots and expendable commodities. The threat of termination is a daily possibility. To Scott Speed his NASCAR experience to date has been a vacation.

Alternatively, Joey Logano has been placed under intense pressure that most 18 year olds, other than those serving in active combat, will ever feel. Logano said he didn’t feel that the Sprint Cup car he raced in Kansas was responsive and that the set-up felt alien. Speed said the Cup Car he tested was great, more fun than the ARCA car and more responsive than the trucks. What? That sentiment is totally opposite of most who are now racing this latest iteration of the Cup car. During the recent Lowes Motor Speedway test Speed set the fastest evening time among all drivers, except Jeff Gordon and that was less than a tenth of second difference. Logano was 49th fastest.

Logano certainly has the race craft to get into the top ten in 2009. He’s been successful at every endeavor he’s undertaken, but this is Sprint Cup, the highest level. Speed has already endured that pressure but doesn’t have the day-to-day experience in these heavy, but very competitive cars.

Get ready for a glimpse of the remainder of 2008 and perhaps a looking glass view of the 2009 Rookie of the Year battle.

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Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Dan Wheldon, driver of the No. 10 Target Honda Dallara in the IndyCar Series have agreed to part ways opening the seat for Dario Franchitti to make a Indycar come back. Former Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion will return to open-wheel racing but this time behind the wheel of the vacated No. 10.

The native of Scotland has over 180 starts under his belt between the CART and IndyCar Series resulting in 18 wins, 17 poles, 63 top-five and 95 top-10 finishes (1997-2007). Franchitti is the winningest driver in U.S. open-wheel history from Great Britain. This creates a team that will have the last two Indy 500 winners as they take the green flag next year in St. Petersburg.

“Dan Wheldon has done everything this organization has asked of him, Chip Ganassi said. He was competitive from the moment that he stepped into the car for us back in 2006 and has provided Target Chip Ganassi Racing many highlights over his three years with the team. Dan is a class act both on and off the track and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Wheldon, who is 4th in points 142 back behind leader and teammate Scott Dixon said, "I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009. I want to personally thank Target and the whole Chip Ganassi Racing organization for the success and enjoyment we shared together. I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future. In the meantime I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season. I wish the team well for 2009 and beyond."

Scott Dixon along with teammate Dan Wheldon combined have eight wins of 16 races this season – second only to the Target team’s CART championship run in 1998 that tallied 10 wins at the hands of former Target champions Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser.

Franchitti who has 25 combined starts in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series did not see much success with only 1 Top 5 and 2 Top 10's all coming from the Nationwide Series where he suffered a fractured left ankle and minor contusions during a lap 11 crash in the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Super Speedway.  "I have really enjoyed this last season in stockcars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career," Franchitti said. Back in July, Chip Ganassi announced that they would be shutting down its No. 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team leaving Franchitti without a ride. Dario's Dodge was without sponsorship most of the 2008 season which eventually lead to the teams decision.

The demise of Dario Franchitti wasn't his team but the car itself. Dodge needs to get their act together because if Kasey Kahne doesn't make the "Chase" Dodge will not be running for the 2008 Championship. But I will say, it'll be a shame not see Ashley Judd, Franchitti’s wife, in the pits running through a rainstorm in a sundress as if she were starring in one of her films we’ve all learned to enjoy.

Franchitti who is the 2007 Indycar Champ will be back in that series fighting for the 2009 Championship for Chip Ganassi. “Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver.  You can do almost any form of racing that you want.  With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses it made me think about this more and more. I am really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of one of those Target cars and be a teammate to Scott Dixon.”

Dan Wheldon not ready to release plans for next year. "I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future," Wheldon said. "In the meantime I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season. I wish the team well for 2009 and beyond."