NASCAR's most anticipated debut since the Car of Tomorrow will occur Saturday.
Joey Logano, who turned 18 five days ago, will strap into the No. 20 GameStop Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover International Speedway, and the attention of the NASCAR world will shift to the Nationwide Series.
"Joey is magic, take my word for it,"
says driver Mark Martin, who has touted Logano's talents. "You will see soon."
In Logano's favor: quality equipment. With Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, Gibbs has won eight of the 13 Nationwide races this season. "I told him he doesn't have to go out there and win every race, like we're doing," Busch says.
TEAM NOTES: Monstrous weekend on tap at Dover
In Logano's most recent start, the 2007 NASCAR Camping World East champion blew away the field in his first ARCA Re/Max Series race. He led 257 of the 312 laps on May 4 when racing returned to Rockingham Speedway.
Neither team President J.D. Gibbs nor Logano, who signed with Gibbs when he was 15, anticipates a particularly difficult transition to the Nationwide Series. The Camping East cars Logano has been driving are hand-me-downs from the Nationwide and Cup series.
"Every time he steps into something new (you think), 'Well, this will take him awhile.' It doesn't,"
Gibbs says. "We don't want to put any undue pressure on him, but he has that fire. He's just gifted."
Hamlin says Logano will be an immediate force at Dover. "If any other rookie was getting in the car, I wouldn't even consider (him) a factor,"
Hamlin says.
Logano, who won seven races last year, isn't short on confidence or experience. He was the Eastern Grand National junior stock quarter-midget champion at 7 — about the time he began turning backyard laps in an old Honda Civic.
"I've had plenty of time behind the wheel,"
says Logano, who won a track-record 14 consecutive races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and, at 12, became the youngest Pro Legends national champion. "A lot of people can make a car go fast, but not that many can win a race."
The development of Logano and Marc Davis — who will be 18 in June and seems only a car length or two behind in progression — is important for Gibbs. Although JGR has a top stable of drivers, it intends to field a fourth car, perhaps even next year.
"People asked me when I was about 5, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' I said, 'A race car driver.' I always knew,"
Logano says. "At school, I'd draw pictures, and it was always a race car."
Growing up in Connecticut before moving to Georgia, Logano played hockey and spent considerable time at ice rinks, often doing his homework there while sister Danielle, 19, an accomplished figure skater, practiced. But his favorite times were behind the wheel. "I told Joey, as long as he picks a sport that he wears a helmet, I would be happy,"
says his mother, Debbie.
His father supplied the tutorial equipment. "He picked (racing) on his own,"
Tom Logano says. "I was a T-ball coach and played a little basketball with him. He didn't like it. (But) I handed him this go-kart at 4 years old, and he just took to it."
Logano drew Martin's attention while he was driving in the Legends series and Martin's son, Matt, was driving Bandoleros. By then, Logano had benefited from the tutelage of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison. "The first time I met him,"
Logano says, "I was racing a Legends car at Martinsville. I was 10 and running about two-tenths off (the pace). He said, 'Son, you gotta give her some wheel. Turn it a little.' Next thing, I'm turning the wheel and I'm as fast as everybody."
When he steps into the Sprint Cup Series — which, at this point, requires only NASCAR safety approval and a car from Joe Gibbs — he should be more than ready. He has driven more than 4,000 miles in the last year testing Cup cars for the team.
"It's definitely cool to get in those cars and learn as much as I can,"
he says. "When I do get to Cup, I won't be going in cold turkey."
