Joe Gibbs has been salivating over this kid for years. Mark Martin even saw him coming more than three years ago. And that was when Joey Logano was 15.
Logano is the jewel that owners and crew chiefs seek throughout the rough that is this country. He’s young, fast and provides another hot commodity when the Young Gun movement seemed to be fading. Fans will finally get to see him Saturday, when Logano takes over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Toyota in the Heluva Good! 200 at Dover International Speedway.
The No. 20 is accountable for six wins in 13 Nationwide events this year, all with three different drivers. Calm, cool and collective, climbing NASCAR’s ranks and jumping into a good situation haven’t swelled his head.
“I’m just your average Joe and a typical teenager despite all this stuff,” Logano said. “I’m a racer. I wouldn’t do anything different, ever, in my life. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. All my friends are the same way. Racing is their life and that’s the same way for me. A lot of people don’t realize how much work it really is, but I’m having a blast and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this, and I finally get to make my Nationwide Series debut at Dover.”
Logano is already acclimated to the high-banking and ludicrous speeds of the Monster Mile, having dominated the field while clinching the Camping World Series East Series (formerly the Busch North) title there last September. He continued that type of performance since, even thrashing the rest at the ARCA RE/MAX Series Carolina 500 at Darlington a few weeks ago.
Then, Logano was 17. Saturday, Gibbs Racing and the Connecticut native were celebrating his 18th birthday in Charlotte with a 150-pound cake in the shape of the Toyota he will pilot at Dover. He’s now legal by NASCAR’s standards to compete in any of its three circuits.
“It’s the same thing. It’s just bigger, better and a tougher challenge,” Logano said. “You have more guys and bigger tracks. That’s going to be the biggest difference. It’s still a race car with four tires and a steering wheel. You have to be confident. If you’re not confident, then you’re kind of wasting your time. There’s a line between confident and cocky. You definitely have to be confident going into any kind of sport like that. It’s a head game.”
So are NASCAR’s off-track happenings. Gibbs said he wants to keep Tony Stewart in the stable and create a new team for Logano. Stewart, rather, has said he wants to start his own team. Regardless, Lagano can finally show the sport what some have already forecasted. And it’s time for him to live up to the hype, run well and gain the respect at such a ripe age.
“It’s (respect) definitely an important thing,” Logano said. “You have to go out there and race people the way you want to be raced. If they’re going to run you clean, then I’ll run them clean. But you better run them clean before they do anything to you. I think it is a real big thing to gain respect, whether it’s on or off the race track.”
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