Joey Logano brands his Team Penske Cup seat ‘gift from God’
Joey Logano joined the Team Penske Racing in 2013, after four years at JGR.
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Joey Logano (Via IMAGO)
Two-time NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano admitted that his seat at Roger Penske’s Team Penske Racing was a gift from God. He was referring to the drama over him losing the Joe Gibbs Racing seat really early In his career and how Ford’s team seat suddenly going vacant helped him to resurrect his career.
Logano recalled the troubled time he had during his final years at JGR and how he ended up in Penske. At the age of just 19, Logano got his full-time Cup call-up from JGR. He replaced Tony Stewart in the No:20 Toyota. He won his first race at New Hampshire that season, but in 2010 and 2011, he could score a win.
As 2012 progressed, rumors started coming out of the garage that Matt Kenseth would replace Logano in the No:20 car from 2013. The rest of the season was the most stressful period of his career, and he had no plans for the future. That’s when the No:22 team Cup seat opened, and rest was Cup history.
It was the most stressful time of my life professionally because you start hearing the rumors. Matt Kenseth is coming over in the #20 car, and I am driving the 20. I am like, ‘Oh my God! What am I going to do.’…I wasn’t told about this first thing. But I was smart enough to put two to two together…All of a sudden, the No:22 opened up, and that was for me a gift from god
Logano told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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Joey Logano and Team Penske racing was an instant hit
After some initial struggles, Logano found his place in the team alongside Brad Keselowski at Penske. He finished his first season at P8 in the championship, which was a huge achievement, considering he has never cracked the top 10 at JGR.
In his second season with the Ford team, he won five and six races in his third year, establishing himself as the future of the sport. He finally won the elusive title in 2018. Following Keselowski’s exit from the team, he became the senior figure in 2022. He won his second title that season as well.
The 2023 season so far hasn’t been the best for the Ford star. His title defense ended early with R-16 elimination. He was able to score just a single win, and the struggle of the Ford garage to field strong cars was a major reason for it.
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Justin P Joy
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