Logano's first Nationwide Series victory adds to the pressure

By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
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Jason Smith
Getty Images for NASCAR

Pressure is nothing new to Joey Logano, NASCAR’s newest winner – and the youngest winner ever in the Nationwide Series.
 
Logano, who won the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway last week at age 18 years, 21 days, has been under immense expectations ever since Mark Martin started talking about him long before he could legally drive the streets of the United States.
 
And as Logano continued to win along his journey to NASCAR, the pressure built. Is he really as good as he seems? Can he win when he gets to the national series level?
 
“He’s had a lot of pressure, more than I’ve ever seen,” said Debbie Logano, his mom. “Now, everyone one can sit back and believe Mark Martin.”
 
But there’s always more pressure. Now that he’s won in the Nationwide Series, can he win again? Can he win when he gets to Sprint Cup? Is he better than his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates? When will he win a Cup championship?
 
“It’s something that I’ve gotten used to,” Logano said in Kentucky, not long after he won Saturday night. “Since I was 14 running [American Speed Association], I’ve always been under a microscope. ‘You can’t do this. You can’t do that.’ I’m kind of used to that pressure. That part is not really new to me. I’d feel weird if it wasn’t like that.”
 
One way to deal with the pressure would be to believe you are above it. In other words, you start to believe you are better than you actually are.
 
Is that a danger with Logano? After all, he’s been told since he was old enough to think for himself that he was the next Jeff Gordon, the next Tony Stewart.
 
Not going to happen, his mother said. What’s going to prevent it from happening?
 
“Me,” Debbie said.
 
She wasn’t kidding.
 
“But I don’t have to worry about that whatsoever,” Debbie said.
 
Why not? His family says Logano is too grounded, even at such a young age.
 
“Everybody says, ‘Just keep him the way he is,’” said his father, Tom. “That kid ain’t changing. He is who is, and he enjoys who he is. He has no reason to change.
 
“He truly enjoys life. He’s very much grounded. He just has fun. He’s just Joey. Everyone that knows him just knows him as Joey.”
 
“Just Joey” was posing for picture after picture in victory lane at Kentucky as sponsor representatives from various companies stepped in and out of position.
 
But Logano stopped and wondered if his mom and dad and his sister Danielle could make sure they shared the spotlight with him.
 
“I heard him say, ‘We haven’t taken a picture with my family yet,’” Debbie said. “He knows family.”
 
But don’t Gibbs Cup drivers Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch also know family?
 
Of course, but that hasn’t kept the three from getting embroiled in one controversy after another, it seems. Fans see enlarged ego as a problem with the trio, and whether it is true, perception is often reality.
 
Will fans see Logano as arrogant? Even Steve de Souza, the general manager of JGR’s ultra-successful Nationwide Series operations, admits that the ego of a Cup driver can become inflated.
 
But it won’t happen to Logano, de Souza said.
 
“Obviously, when they get to Cup, things seem to change sometimes,” de Souza said. “But he’s grown up in a very social atmosphere. Since he’s been real small, he’s been familiar with being around adults. I think he’s going to have a good balance and temperament.
 
“Going forward, I think he’s going to be a champion, and I think he’s going to be a great champion.”

Mentioned Drivers: Joey Logano

Comments

2 responses to "Logano's first Nationwide Series victory adds to the pressure". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    Rex Lee said:
    Jun 17, 2008 at 1:35 PM

    Joey Lagano could be the next Jeff Gordon, he could quickly be in the Hamlin/Bucsh catagory, Tony Stewart..... thats a differnt kind of catagory. It's unlikely Lagano could ever match Stewart with the championships and victorys he has in every major racing league.[The chilli bowel counts among them] Lagano is another up and comming force of Joe Gibbs Racing.He should have an attitude that matches the drivers of the other teams. As far as getting"embroiled" in controversies goes if it's because he's beating and banging his way to the front, lets get some controversy going!Thank GOD he has a good family, but so what if he was an orphan? Whats that got to do with driving talent?YOUR STUPID! Good Dad/Mom,bad Dad/Mom, cute sister, ugly sister, when the green flag drops, all that stops.

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  2. 2
    Rex Lee said:
    Jun 17, 2008 at 1:35 PM

    Joey Lagano could be the next Jeff Gordon, he could quickly be in the Hamlin/Bucsh catagory, Tony Stewart..... thats a differnt kind of catagory. It's unlikely Lagano could ever match Stewart with the championships and victorys he has in every major racing league.[The chilli bowel counts among them] Lagano is another up and comming force of Joe Gibbs Racing.He should have an attitude that matches the drivers of the other teams. As far as getting"embroiled" in controversies goes if it's because he's beating and banging his way to the front, lets get some controversy going!Thank GOD he has a good family, but so what if he was an orphan? Whats that got to do with driving talent?YOUR STUPID! Good Dad/Mom,bad Dad/Mom, cute sister, ugly sister, when the green flag drops, all that stops.

    Report Abuse

    This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.

    » Confirm Abuse Report

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