| Birthdate: | May 24, 1990 |
| Hometown: | Middletown, Conn. |
| First Career Cup race: | September 14, 2008 (New Hampshire) |
| Career Cup Poles: | 22 |
| Career Cup Wins: | 26 |
| Best Cup Championship Finish: | 1st – 2018 |
At just 15 years of age, Joey Logano was called “the real deal” by respected veteran driver Mark Martin. At just 18, Logano joined Martin in the elite NASCAR Cup Series in 2009 at Daytona as the newest driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Prior to moving up to the Cup Series full-time, Logano ran a limited schedule in the Xfinity Series. He scored his first NASCAR win in just his third career Xfinity Series start at Kentucky Speedway in 2008 after just turning 18 the month earlier. Logano became the youngest winner in Xfinity Series history at 18 years, 21 days with that victory. The fact that he won from the pole made the achievement even more impressive.
That victory, along with his three poles, five top-fives and 14 top-10s in only 19 career Xfinity Series starts, made Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision an easier one on Aug. 25, 2008 when they announced Logano to replace Tony Stewart behind the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota beginning in 2009. His success over those final 19 races also helped the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing entry claim the 2008 NASCAR Xfinity Series Owner’s Championship.
While incredibly quick, Logano’s ascent up the racing ladder was equally natural, for the Middletown, Conn., native has won in every division he’s raced in before moving up to faster, more competitive series. The only roadblock that has ever stood in Logano’s way was his age.
After winning the 2007 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) championship as a rookie, Logano had to wait an agonizing eight months before turning 18 and advancing to the Xfinity Series.
What did he do in between? Only dominate in his first career ARCA Series race May 4 at Rockingham Speedway, where he won the pole and then led five times for a race-high 257 laps in the 312-lap Carolina 500.
Logano’s display of dominance that day segued from a year-long display of dominance.
By simply starting the season-ending Sunoco 150 Camping World Series East race at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 21, Logano clinched the 2007 Camping World East championship. And he did it in what has become familiar style, leading three times for a race-high 79 laps before finishing second in the 150-lap race.
Logano’s ninth podium finish capped a season that saw him take seven checkered flags – five in Camping World East, one in the NASCAR Camping World Series West where Logano made his JGR debut at Phoenix International Raceway, and at the Oct. 20 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway, which is billed as the “Daytona 500 of Short-Track Racing.”
His win at Phoenix sparked Logano’s Camping World East campaign. Logano never went more than two consecutive races without a victory, as he won the Camping World East season-opener at Greenville-Pickens Speedway April 28, Iowa Speedway in Newton May 20, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon June 29, Adirondack Speedway in Beaver Falls, N.Y., July 29 and New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sept. 14.
Logano’s championship was the fourth for JGR, with the company’s three previous titles coming in the Cup Series ranks via Bobby Labonte in 2000, and Stewart in 2002 and 2005.
In his rookie Cup Series season in 2009, Logano enjoyed a great season. He not only became the youngest driver to win the Sprint Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, but also the youngest driver to win a Cup series race at 19 years, 1 month and 4 days when he won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Logano didn’t visit Victory Lane in his sophomore season in 2010, but he saw his best points finish in the standings – 16th – as a result of seven top-five finishes and 16 top 10s. He also scored his first pole award.
Logano went winless again in 2011, finishing 24th in points with six top 10s in 36 starts. Logano’s best finish was third twice: in Charlotte and at Daytona International Speedway. He also won two poles, at Infineon and Pocono Raceways.
In 2012, Logano’s final year at Joe Gibbs Racing, he finished 17th in points with 12 top 10s in 36 starts – including a victory at Pocono Raceway in June. And just as he did in 2011, Logano won two poles.
He also made 22 starts for JGR in the Xfinity Series and posted nine victories: a winning percentage of .409.
For 2013, Logano made his debut season with Team Penske a memorable one – winning at Michigan International Speedway in August and earning a spot in the post-season. He finished eighth in the final standings, totaling 19 top-10 finishes in 36 starts.
Logano also competed in 15 Xfinity Series events, winning three and helping Team Penske claim the owners’ championship for the No. 22 Ford. And he made three starts in the Camping World Truck Series, with a best finish of second (to Kyle Larson) at Rockingham Speedway.
In 2014, Logano chased his championship dreams all the way to Homestead-Miami Speedway, where a 16th-place finish in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 left him well short of his goal. But he did win five races…three in the regular season, which placed him as the No. 5 seed on the Playoff Grid, and two more in the post-season that lifted Logano into The Championship 4 to contend for the crown in South Florida. He finished fourth in the final standings with 22 top 10s in his 36 starts. Logano also won a pole at Las Vegas, where he backed it up with a fourth-place finish.
Logano made his 200th career Cup Series start on June 28, 2014, finishing ninth at Kentucky Speedway. He also drove in 10 Xfinity Series races that season, posting three straight second-place finishes in one stretch, and had a 10.5 average finish in his two Camping World Truck Series starts.
Logano earned a berth in the playoffs for the third straight season in 2015 but slipped to sixth in the final standings. In 2016, he rose to second place – a mere three points behind seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Logano won three races and three poles, securing the No. 9 seed in the post-season. He qualified for The Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finished fourth in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400.
Logano missed the playoffs in 2017 despite winning early in the season at Richmond Raceway. Post-event penalties prevented him from using the victory to qualify for a post-season berth. Logano went winless over the final seven months of the season and missed a playoff spot by 100 points.
In 2018, Logano won his first Monster Energy Cup Series championship after putting together a late-season surge in the playoffs that including two wins, six top fives, eight top 10s and 595 laps led in the 10-race span. The most important win came in the season-finale to make him the 33rd driver to win the Cup Championship. Logano made the playoffs with his win at Talladega Superspeedway, his third at the 2.66-mile track.
Joey Logano wasn’t able to become a back-to-back Cup Series champion in 2019 but still finished fifth in the final standings.
Logano did make the playoffs for the sixth time in his career but was eliminated in the Round of 8. Along the way the Team Penske driver scored two wins this season to extend his season streak of winning at least one race to eight straight (2012-2019).
After seven seasons with crew chief Todd Gordon, Logano will have a new crew chief in 2020. Paul Wolfe, who formerly led the No. 2 team and Brad Keselowski, will now work with Logano.
