For many drivers in NASCAR, 2013 is a chance for them to begin a brand-new chapter of their careers with a new race team.
Joey Logano is one of a handful of drivers who will enter the season with new colors and a new number, which is rather frustrating for fans who grow accustom to seeing drivers in certain colors and numbers.
Logano, 22, spent his first four years of his young career with Joe Gibbs Racing as a full-time Sprint Cup Series driver, where he posted two victories (New Hampshire, Pocono), sixteen top-fives, 41 top-ten finishes and is still searching for that initial birth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but Joe Gibbs Racing had other plans and decided to sign Matt Kenseth to drive the #20 Toyota for the 2013 season and beyond, which left Logano pondering his future.
Joe Gibbs Racing had a couple of options: One was to add a fourth team if sponsorship was available, but that did not occur. The second option was to have Logano race a part-time Cup schedule as a fourth team and have him run a full NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule in one of Gibbs’ stout Nationwide Toyota’s, but that was not in Logano’s best interests.
Instead, a few days after Joe Gibbs Racing made the deal with Matt Kenseth official, Penske Racing inked the 22-year-old Logano to drive the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford.
Todd Gordon, who spent most of the 2012 season being the crew chief of Sam Hornish Jr. due to AJ Allmendiner’s unfortunate drug-related suspension, will be paired with Logano in 2013. The #22 car finished 21st in the owners standings in 2012 with the duo of drivers.
Once considered NASCAR’s next-best thing, Logano hasn’t amounted to anything in the Cup Series quite just yet, but he’s done very well in the Nationwide Series ranks where he has won a total of 18 races, posted 53 top-fives and 86 top-ten finishes since he started racing in 2008.
However, lets all not forget that Logano is still very young and at the same time learning along the way. Logano was dumped into the Sprint Cup Series full-time at age 19. Most 19 year olds are enduring their first year of college and pondering what they are going to do with their lives, not racing side by side with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. so as Logano continues to mature, he is going to get better and better, which is a tad bit scary if you’re his competition.
It won’t be easy switching teams along with manufacturers and trying to figure out this new Gen-6 NASCAR stock car, but the driver from Connecticut has the right group of people around him to make the transition smoother.
Logano has a bright future, a change of scenery and a fresh start will deeply benefit him. And it can’t hurt to have a defending champion nurture you and give you pointers along the way.
