NASCAR Driver Profile: Joey Logano

The 18-year-old Nationwide Series rookie has been the topic of many conversations this week after earning his first victory in just three career races in NASCAR. Joey Logano took home the checkered under the lights at Kentucky Speedway on June 14th. The young driver dominated the Meijer 300 over Joe Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch, dispelling many of the doubts cast over his quick move into the Nationwide Series after passing NASCAR’s age minimum of 18. Logano became the youngest driver ever to win in Nationwide history at 18 years and 21 days.

On top of his victory, Logano has wowed crowds by earning two pole positions since his debut, including one at Kentucky Speedway. But the rookie isn’t the only one meriting accolades: the Joe Gibbs Racing team, especially Crew Chief Dave Rogers, deserves quite a bit of credit for a successful season thus far. The victory was the 10th overall for the team this season, and the seventh under Dave Rogers’ No. 20 team. Gibbs has had four drivers in the seat of the No. 20, including Denny Hamlin (one win), Tony Stewart (four wins), and Kyle Busch (two wins). The team leads the Nationwide Series Points Standings through the Meijer 300 over the Richard Childress No. 2, driven by Clint Bowyer. Bowyer has one victory in the Nationwide Series in the 2008 season.

Logano began racing go-karts at age six, and progressed quickly through the ranks. He won the Pro Legends national championship at age 12 and moved into dirt late models, where he was spotted by Mark Martin. The veteran driver pushed team owner Jack Roush to sign the prodigy. And now, Logano is writing history.