Joey Logano’s NASCAR journey began when he was still a teenager, much like Connor Zilisch today. While young drivers today often cut their teeth in ARCA or the lower divisions, such as Trucks and Xfinity, the same way they did back then, the landscape has shifted since Logano’s early days.
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Back then, development also came through dirt tracks and Legend Cars. While today’s prospects fine-tune their craft on high-tech simulators that give them a head start in learning the nuances of every circuit, as well as their machines, car control still comes with seat time, but adaptability arrives much faster.
When asked recently what might have accelerated his progress in the sport during the rocky start of his Cup career with Joe Gibbs Racing, Logano pointed to his own growing pains. “I feel like probably some of my maturity level held me back a little bit,” he admitted.
The now #22 Ford Mustang driver elaborated on how he never could become the leader JGR wanted at the time, driving his team with force towards decisions on and off track, or setup changes that he might have required to go faster.
“Not that I was out there doing dumb things. I was very focused in on what I was doing, but I didn’t lead my team as good as I felt like I should have. I wasn’t assertive enough. I wasn’t confident enough to do that, and I feel like that, over time, kind of set me back a little bit to start.”
However, he mentioned, “That team that I started with would have been great at this time of my career, but as a rookie, it was not. You just have to have the right people at the right times around you.”
Logano’s Cup and Xfinity career began in 2009 with Joe Gibbs Racing, just four months shy of his 19th birthday, stepping into the seat vacated by Tony Stewart’s move to form Stewart-Haas Racing. But despite JGR’s pedigree, Logano never found the breakthrough he needed, finishing 20th, 16th, 24th, and 17th over four full seasons.
His fortunes shifted when he joined Team Penske in 2013, scoring a victory at Michigan in his debut year and finishing eighth in the standings.
From there, he hit his stride, five wins in 2014, six more in 2015, though his first Cup championship didn’t arrive until 2018. This year, the Team Penske driver finds himself three points below the cut line as the playoffs head to World Wide Technology Raceway, where he looks to claw his way back into contention.
