Joe Gibbs Racing will announce Monday that 18-year-old Joe Logano will replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Sprint Cup car next season. This isn’t exactly unexpected, but is it a good move?
Major league baseball and the NFL are littered with pitchers and quarterbacks rushed into service too soon, but there doesn’t seem to be any trend in NASCAR. The only name that comes to mind is Casey Atwood, the Tennessee native who was supposed to be the next big star only to flame out after two Cup seasons.
There seems to be little risk, though, in putting Logano into the Sprint Cup car. He’s proven in every series he’s competed in that he has talent far above his age. JGR wanted to wait a year to get him into Sprint Cup, but when Stewart pushed his way out of the door a year earlier than expected, a decision had to be made.
What helps the process is the experience and leadership of crew chief Greg Zipadelli, who has seen and done it all. He’ll keep Logano grounded and deflect any pressure the teenager might get. It also helps that Joe Gibbs will not expect great results right away. Logano can grow at his own pace for a couple of years before he has to start producing.
Anything he does before then will be gravy, a luxury most young drivers no longer get in Sprint Cup.
Lindsey Young is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who started work at the Chattanooga News-Free Press 24 years ago. He covers the Northwest Georgia prep beat and NASCAR. Lindsey’s hometown is Ringgold, Ga., and he graduated from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School. He received an associate’s degree from Dalton Junior College (now Dalton State) and a bachelor’s degree in communications from UTC. He has won several writing awards, including two Tennessee Sports ...
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