It was a sight Tony Stewart couldn't take his eyes off -- the No. 20 Home Depot car running up front late in the race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

And it made little difference Stewart was a few car lengths behind watching his Joe Gibbs Racing successor drive one of the best races of his brief Sprint Cup career.

In a race when Mark Martin, 50, again proved he's among the sports' best with a victory in the Southern 500, teen sensation Joey Logano nearly stole the show.

"I led laps in the Southern 500," Logano said. "I was stoked about that."

Plus, he earned praise from Stewart, the man who drove Logano's machine to two Sprint Cup titles.

"When he was leading the race, I was smiling because I knew those guys have been waiting for this for a couple of weeks now," said Stewart, who finished third behind Martin and Jimmie Johnson. "It's just a matter of time before Joey got going."

Logano, who turns 19 May 24, led 19 laps -- nearly four times as many as he had this season -- and was out front with fewer than 100 miles left. He ended ninth, matching his best NASCAR finish at a track known for sending rookies into the wall and then laughing in their faces.

Logano was proud of his performance and grateful for Stewart's words.

"Yeah, to have Smoke happy with the way I ran with his old car, that's a very big compliment," said Logano, a wide smile on his face. "They're hard to get."

Get ready, Joey, there could be many more on the way if you keep running like this.

A year ago, Logano hung on the pit wall at Darlington watching Stewart and praying his 18th birthday would come simply to drive in NASCAR events. The youngster was nicknamed "Sliced Bread" in the garage because he was considered the best thing to come along since ... well, you get it.

Martin's win and Logano's rise capped a wild Saturday in NASCAR's top series. NASCAR announced that driver-owner Jeremy Mayfield failed a drug test and was indefinitely suspended.

• Spanish Grand Prix: Jenson Button won his fourth Formula One race of the season yesterday in Barcelona ahead of Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello. Button's two-stop strategy proved decisive as he became the ninth consecutive winner from pole position, even after Barrichello overtook him out of the start.

Also, Toyota is threatening to pull out of F1 in 2010 because of a dispute over a proposed budget cap.