Logano to drive Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Cup entry in 2009
Joe Gibbs Racing officials confirmed today that 18-year-old Joey Logano will drive the team's No. 20 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning next season.
Logano has signed a multiyear contract with the team. While JGR officials would not disclose the length of that agreement, President J.D. Gibbs did say it was probably longer than the normal driver contract.
"It's a dream come true," Logano said.
He will compete in at least two Cup races this season, attempting to make the field for the races at Richmond and Atlanta in the team's No. 02 Toyota. He will also compete in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway in order to be eligible for the Daytona 500.
While the driver admits he has a lot to learn, especially about driving in NASCAR's elite series, he'll be aided by the veteran leadership of two-time Cup championship crew chief Greg Zipadelli.
Logano began racing for the organization in the Nationwide Series earlier this season. He has made 10 starts in the series, winning in his third outing and earning seven top-10 finishes and three top-fives.
Logano will replace two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, who is leaving at season's end to join the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing team. Logano will work with Stewart's former crew chief, Zipadelli, and the team will continue to be sponsored by The Home Depot.
"For myself and the rest of the guys, we're extremely excited to be with Home Depot for a number of years to come and Joey for a number of years to come … We've had a great 10 years, we've got some pretty good stats to set our goals at right now, and we'll use that for our motivating tools in the future," Zipadelli said.
"… It's a burst of energy for myself and everybody in this team, and we're looking forward to the future."
Zipadelli has been with Stewart since they debuted together and can help Logano as he transitions into the top level of NASCAR competition. Logano has been with the organization as a development driver since he was 15 and has been testing Cup cars this season, sometimes with Zipadelli on hand to work with him.
"I think what we've got here is a seasoned veteran … He is the crew chief and coach, is the way I look at it, of this team," team owner Joe Gibbs said.
The organization says it never seriously considered any other driver to fill the void left by Stewart. Although Logano is new to NASCAR and is young in terms of age, he's a driver with the proven ability to win and to adapt to different cars and different series quickly.
Team President J.D. Gibbs worked to slowly bring the driver along and didn't plan to put him into the Cup ranks until Logano was ready. But after the driver tested with the veterans and after listening to the assessments of Zipadelli and Jimmy Makar, senior vice president of racing operations, Gibbs said he knew that Logano could handle the transition.
"It was probably three years ago when we went to Kansas and did an ARCA test, you could see right then he was very consistent," Zipadelli said of Logano. "He hit his marks and ran the same lap times with the car that he had. I think the biggest thing, he's very open minded. He's not afraid to move around. He'll take what he has and do the best with it. In what we've done so far, it's been a lot of fun."
The driver himself seems to welcome all of the aspects of Cup racing that he will face and has, to date, thrived in the spotlight he immediately captured in his Nationwide debut earlier this season.
"I'm all about the pressure – I'm cool with pressure. I'm moving up to this car now. It's more pressure, but I can handle it. … It's cool to even have your name brought up [for this job] and for all of it to happen," he said. "It's going to be really exciting."
