Joey Logano has reached that middle ground between the teenager we knew in Connecticut, who reached out to make his mark behind the wheel of fast cars, and the grizzled veteran. In fact, he’s only 32, but he’s now a father of three and he is about to reach a racing milestone.

He will make his 500th start in the NASCAR’s premier series when the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee gets going Sunday. Where have the years and the miles gone?

“Some times the days are long, but the years are quick,” Logano said this week. “Someone said that about being a parent, the days are long but the years are quick, so enjoy every one of them. You have good days, long days, hard days, but it seems the years go by quickly.”

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Logano is 14 years past his first race at Loudon, N.H., and he isn’t slowing down. He has three wins this year, though he walked away from a frightening crash at Talladega, including The Clash at the LA Coliseum. Longevity is not its own reward.

“At this point in my career I’m so tuned into winning,” he said. “I just want to win and the amount of starts doesn’t stand out. With so many of them with Team Penske, there is a loyalty in it and that part of it is special to me. It’s the longevity and consistency that’s special.”

Born in Middletown, he won his first race in at age 6. and was winning championship races at 7 and 8. Logano was 18 when he won his first grown-up race, the Meijer 300, and 19 when he won at Loudon. As this 500th start comes, he has 29 wins, 253 top-10 finishes and 24 poles in the NASCAR cup series.

“The experience at each race track, you go back and say, ‘Yeah, this track is typically like this, the track has always gone in this direction,’” Logano said. “You just have a bigger notebook that you can go back on. Knowing how to handle your race team, there have been so many lessons learned for me, from Day One at Loudon to my 500th start in Bristol, I am not the same person, not the same driver.”

Joey Logano still having fun behind the wheel. (Colin E. Braley/AP)

Logano and his wife, Brittany, and their children get back to Connecticut for holidays and special occasions, such as last February, when he came back to the Silver City Club where he started to help put down a fresh coat of asphalt. “We prettied it up,” Logano said. “And more important, they have a program there now that gives kids the opportunity to go racing in a much more affordable way, to try it out for a year.”

Logano dusted off his old midget car, put his son, Hudson, in it and took a picture with his dad, a moment he cherishes.

So the years and the races keep coming fast at Logano, but the enjoyment is in the grind, and so long as that’s the case, he’s likely to chase down 1,000.

“There is never been a moment when you’re satisfied during a season, and you shouldn’t be,” he said. “This year, with the Next Gen car, so many unknowns. It’s the most unique year I’ve been a part of. There is always something pushing, always something more to get, and the big piece of it, I still enjoy it. Five hundred starts later, I still just want to make laps. Here in the shop, I’m the one who runs the most laps every day, because I like it. When I get in a car, I enjoy it still.”

More for the Sunday read:

Each day Tim Restall left the nightmare behind — the nightmare that was all of our lawns this summer — and saw the lush, green grass at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. Another work of art from the Yard Goats top turf guys, Kyle Calhoon and Matt Picard.

“With the drought and the damage to my front lawn it was great to play baseball and not worry about tarp pulls and rain delays,” said Restall, the Yard Goats’ president.

It took more than water, which had to be used wisely. The field was fertilized every 10 to 14 days and aerated just as frequently. An alternating of mechanical and organic methods kept the lawn as perfect as if rain came every other day.

The great weather helped the Goats’ attendance reach then surpass prepandemic levels. Of 67 games, 40 were sold out. With the home season finale last Sunday, the Goats drew 402,123, a 6,002 average. The park seats 6,000, with standing room to 6,850, and they squeezed a few more in on occasion.

There’s only 204 days until YG baseball is back. It’s fine, we’re fine 🥹 pic.twitter.com/IYfB6LNjJn

The Goats finish the season Sunday, with no playoffs because they did not win the first- or second-half title. More Yard Goats made it to the big leagues quickly, including Michael Toglia and Noah Davis.

“Having Max Scherzer play here [for a rehab] start,” Restall said, “and see all the major-league rehabs we had, it was great to see those teams have their players come to Hartford to rehab. It says a lot about the facility, the staff and the great fans.”

The ballpark was again named top Double A stadium by Ballpark Digest for the fourth time in six years.

“It all adds up to a great season,” Restall said.

The Yard Goats made it through the pandemic and the minor-league upheaval. “We don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “We stop and smell the roses every day we’re here.”

* UConn athletics had a rough week. In the days following the 48-14 loss to Syracuse, Jim Mora got off message, sounded too much like his predecessors. One of the refreshing things about him has been his positive, make-the-best-of-it outlook, but frustration boiled over a bit when he mentioned that UConn is “not allowed to have depth.” I get it, coaches don’t like to be denied something other coaches have, and if 105 players isn’t enough, it could be examined and addressed later, behind the scenes, This wasn’t the time. And as for the real or perceived shade at Randy Edsall, hey, turn the page. That’s why Mora is here.

* With the news Kevin Ollie got another $3.9 million for claimed reputational harm, on top of the $11.1 million he got in January, came another reminder that someone at UConn got bad advice, or didn’t listen to sound advice. Ollie got it all because he was willing to risk getting nothing.

[  East Hartford’s Rentschler Field needs $63 million upgrade, new study says. ‘it’s like walking into a time capsule’ ]

* And as The Courant reported, Rentschler Field needs a $63 million upgrade, This revelation was also ill-timed. That’s going to be a hard sell without better, more entertaining football.

Brian Daboll took a chance going for the two-points to win his first game as Giants coach. If it failed he would have been roasted, toasted, barbecued all week. But as an old baseball manager, Leo Durocher once said, “If you’re afraid, go home.” He showed faith in his players and they responded in a big way.

Back cover of the @nypost today after Brian Daboll’s gutsy two-point conversion: #TogetherBlue  #Giants pic.twitter.com/UL5K3GTRon

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com