Joe Gibbs Racing Signs Up Joey Logano
Eighteen-year-old racing phenomenon Joey Logano is about to take one of the biggest steps of his career – racing in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series in the No. 20 Home Depot Camry as part of the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Logano is already quite used to racing with people who are much older than he is and he is looking forward to the challenge.
Eighteen-year-old racing phenomenon Joey Logano is about to take one of the biggest steps of his career – racing in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series in the No. 20 Home Depot Camry as part of the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Logano is already quite used to racing with people who are much older than he is and he is looking forward to the challenge.
In a way the move is the climax of a dream he had when he was just a child. In 1997, at just seven years of age when he was dominating Quarter Midget races, Logano said that his dream was to one day race regularly against Jeff Gordon who was his favorite driver at the time. That dream will officially become a reality as of 2009.
Logano has come a long way since his early childhood days of racing. By the time he was just eight years of age, he was competing against kids that were sixteen and up in Quarter Midget racing. When he was 9, he set a new record by becoming the youngest driver to compete in Legends Car racing. As if that wasn’t enough, Logano went on to race professionally against adults and driving full-size Late Models by the time he was twelve. Then, at fifteen, he won his second USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series. Shortly after that, Joe Gibbs Racing won the bidding war that allowed them to sign up the youngster with their team. They have since been grooming him for success and feel that he is now ready to tackle the Sprint Cup Series.
Since turning 18 in May earlier this year, Logano has been competing in NASCAR’s second tier Nationwide Series. The move has given him the perfect preparation to now join the Sprint Cup team. And the timing couldn’t be better: Tony Stewart in leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season to become an owner/driver with Stewart-Haas Racing. The move provided an opening that Joey Logano will fill and the youngster is already looking forward to it. Commenting on the change, Logano said: “It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t really ask for anything better.” He also remarked that he was “cool with pressure” and felt that he could handle the increase in pressure that he was sure he would experience in his new role.