Starting Young in NASCAR? Joey Logano Explains Exactly How It Benefits Later in the Career

Two-time champion Joey Logano started his full-time career in the Cup Series at the age of 19, and to date, remains the youngest driver to win a race at the highest level of NASCAR. While most drivers spend a considerable time in the lower rungs before making the jump, Logano entered the Cup Series as a raw driver despite all the hype surrounding him. In a recent interview, the Team Penske driver, who ruffled quite some feathers early on in his career, shared the biggest benefit of entering this arena early.

On how competing at this level at such a young age shapes you, the #22 driver revealed, “It accelerates your growth drastically, right, like when you put yourself in a very challenging position you’re going to grow. You may not win but you’re going to grow and that’s what it’s all about.”

Logano, who won one race and finished as the Rookie of the Year in 2009, also believes losing early on in your career is something every driver needs to take in his stride if they want to figure out how to get those wins.

“When you’re young and uh, first starting off with something it’s just not being scared to just go out there and don’t be scared to lose. You’re probably gonna get beat but you’re eventually going to figure it out quicker and put yourself in a unique position kind of like I am now with the amount of experience, I still feel like I got a good runway ahead of me to continue driving,” added the 2018 and 2022 champion, who will look to bounce back from a disappointing title defense in 2023.

Joey Logano sees a lot of himself in Ty Gibbs

This past week during the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, Logano had a heated exchange with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs, who, in just his second full-time season, has angered many in the Cup Series so far. It seems Logano has no issue with Ty Gibbs’ antics on the track. In fact, he likens the #54 driver to himself early on in his career.

“I’ve been through a lot of the stuff before where I was like him. I can see a lot of myself in Ty. I get a lot of it.. When I was young, I was doing a lot of the same things,” Logano expressed in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR radio.

NASCAR fans know what Logano is walking about. The Team Penske driver was involved in feuds with almost every driver, his clashes with Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick still fresh in the minds of most in the garage.

But Logano held his ground, and now, he is a two-time Cup Series champion.