Logano’s the Next Face of NASCAR
By Richard Diaz
Love of Sports Correspondent
The popularity of NASCAR is undeniable.
It’s an event that draws fans in numbers that easily rival those of any other major sporting event. People will literally drive across the country several times a year to watch their favorite drivers perform hundreds of left turns on dozens of tracks.
Tailgating’s taken to another level when it comes to NASCAR as well, and in some cases, people will make the trip to the track without tickets to the actual event and watch it from their motor home.
Unlike other major sports, where a novice level fan can watch a player climb the ranks through Triple-A or the NCAA, NASCAR doesn’t really have this.
That said, what NASCAR does have is a bunch of lower level circuits a driver should generally master before jumping into the pit with the big boys.
It’s within these races that fans can follow the up and coming talent. One name in particular caught our attention, if for no other reason than the fact he just recently turned 18 years old and yet already has 14 years of racing experience!
That wasn’t a typo, folks.
Eighteen-year-old racing prodigy Joey Logano won his first Grand National Championship at the age of seven! In the fashion of a future great, he followed that up with two more titles; one at the age of eight and another at nine.
If winning a racing championship nine years before being old enough to get a license isn’t worthy of some Extreme Love, I’m not sure what is!
Want more? OK.
Joey turned pro in 2000 at the age of 12, becoming the youngest driver to join the ranks of the Legends Division. This inevitably turned into him being the youngest ever Pro Legends National Champion. His next step was competing in the USAR Hooters Cup Series, where he managed to finish in the Top 10 in 17 different races over the course of two seasons. He’s also the youngest to win a National Championship in the Bandolero Bandits Series.
April 19, 2006 marked his entrance in the NASCAR Grand National West Series, which he won. He followed that victory with another in his NASCAR Grand National Busch East Series debut at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. He tallied another five victories over the course of the 2006 season, as well as five Top 5 finishes.
This child prodigy is living up to some heavy duty expectations, and he’s a driver everyone should start looking out for.
You won’t be able to avoid him now, as he just ran his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup event last weekend in Loudon, New Hampshire. He finished 32nd in his maiden voyage with the big boys, beating such name drivers as points leader Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman along the way.
He’s officially been signed to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2009 season, taking over the No. 20 car driven for years by the legendary Tony Stewart. He’ll be competing for wins immediately with a team that knows how to get things done.
Extreme Love goes out today to a kid who’s just barely old enough to drive in NASCAR, but is already generating the kind of buzz most NASCAR drivers would kill for.
Joey Logano, the next face of NASCAR.
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