CHICAGO—At the end of the 2012 season, Joey Logano was 17th in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings and out of a full-time job he had held since 2009, when he was 19.
Logano lost his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing to Matt Kenseth, a veteran with a championship on his resume. But Logano found a comfortable home at Team Penske, where, two years after his ouster at JGR, he is considered one of a handful of favorites to win the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which starts on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.
“(It’s) pretty sweet,” Logano said of the rapid resurrection of his career. “I tell you, my career has been a roller coaster for sure, but I’ve loved every second of it. I’ve been through some harder times and trying to figure out where I was going to race, if I was going to race. … Now to be in a position to feel like I have a legit shot at winning a championship, that is cool.
“That’s awesome for me. I’m excited about that, and my whole team is very excited about that, and we want to do that. Man, it has been fun. I’m glad I went through all that, because I wouldn’t be who I am today without it.
Whether he wins the title or not, Logano feels that being included in the same conversation with former champions Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski (his Penske teammate) is a source of pride.
“It’s definitely a little sense of accomplishment already, feeling that I have a shot at this,” Logano said. “People were talking (that) we’re one of the top contenders at this thing—and I believe that. My whole team believes that. We are going to fight to the end here to make this a dream season the best we can.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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