Joey Logano, since joining Team Penske in 2013, clinched his third NASCAR Cup Series Championship title this season, but with the lowest average finish in the team. Logano, who began his Cup Series career in 2008, has only raced for two teams over his 17-year stint.
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He spent his first five years with Joe Gibbs Racing, but Logano never managed to end a season higher than P16 driving their #20 Toyota. However, his fortunes turned when he signed with Team Penske in 2013, finishing his first season in P8 in the final driver standings. But why did he switch teams?
Recently, Roger Penske shed light on this after the #22 driver’s win in Phoenix, highlighting the career move. He revealed that Brad Keselowski had introduced Logano to him. Impressed by Logano’s racing abilities, Penske reached out to Joe Gibbs.
“I called Joe Gibbs, to be honest with you, and said, Joe, I’m very interested in hiring Joey. And he said to wait a week because they were trying to get sponsorship for him. Were not able to do that, and we put it together,” Penske explained.
But back in 2012, JGR’s team president, J.D. Gibbs, had said that they were considering moving Logano down to the Nationwide Series to free up a slot for Matt Kenseth. And that could have been one of the reasons for Logano‘s move as well.
From a somewhat tepid performance at JGR, where he won only two out of 147 Cup starts, since joining Team Penske, he’s won 34 more races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including his recent win at Phoenix.
Logano’s career trajectory in Team Penske so far
In his first season with the team in 2013, Logano captured one win, secured two pole positions, and landed in the top 10 twelve times. The following year, he upped his game, amassing 5 wins, 16 top-5 finishes, 22 top-10 finishes, and leading 993 laps.
By his third season, Logano went on to win six races including the Daytona 500, and swept three consecutive playoff races at Charlotte, Kansas, and Talladega, finishing the season in sixth place overall.
In 2016, Logano won three victories and battled his way to his second Championship 4 appearance, ultimately finishing P2 in the Cup Series standings.
Although 2017 saw a dip, with no playoff appearance, he managed a win at Richmond and ten top-five finishes. His persistence paid off in 2018 when he claimed three race wins and captured his first Cup Series championship.
Logano maintained strong performances, never finishing outside the top eight in the Cup standings until 2022, when he added another four wins to his tally, including a victory in the championship race at Phoenix to secure his second NASCAR Cup. The following year (2023) saw his teammate Ryan Blaney take the Cup while Logano finished P12.
2024, however, turned out to be another big year for Logano, albeit not without its drama. Despite controversies over his qualification for the Round of 8 following Alex Bowman’s disqualification, Logano’s season was marked by four wins and seven top-5s.
