Mark Martin has called him "the real deal". Joe Gibbs Racing has invested a lot of time and effort in him. On Saturday, Joey Logano will make his long awaited debut in the NASCAR Nationwide series, driving the #20 Gamestop Toyota in the Helluva Good! 200 at Dover International Raceway. Logano has been long considered the best driver with the greatest potential in the regional series in which he has raced in. The question on everyone's mind, however, is if Logano will be able to live up to his expectations, or if he will be another "also ran" in NASCAR's three national series.
Joey Logano has raced since age 7 in many different types of cars, including quarter midgets, Bandoleros, Legends, and late models. At age 12, he already had won a championship, capturing the Southeast-based Pro Legends national championship. In 2007, he won 5 races, captured 3 poles, and won the Busch East Series Championship. He also won the Toyota All-Star Showdown in October.
Mark Martin has been one of Logano's fans from very early on. "I am high on Joey Logano because I am absolutely, 100-percent positive, without a doubt that he can be one of the greatest that ever raced in NASCAR," Martin said that day. "I'm positive. There's no doubt in mind."
With all the racing experience he has, and the support of one of NASCAR's greatest drivers of all time, it is difficult to argue that Joey Logano is not going to be an instant sensation. But, like with many other drivers, Logano's age and maturity will play a major role on how successful he becomes in NASCAR's highest series.
Logano, though, has already shown a great deal of maturity going into his first Nationwide Series race, much more than some veteran drivers have. When asked about his expectations for his first career Nationwide Series race, he stated that if he can compete for a victory, he will, but if he does not perform as well as he'd like, he'll use the race as a learning experience to get acquainted with racing on the second highest level.
Joey Logano has some personal goals going into Saturday's race and beyond; one of those include making it into the Sprint Cup Series. When asked about a time table for making it to NASCAR's highest level, Logano stated, "Right now, [ I will ] focus on the next race in front of me. I don't look that far ahead of me... Right now, I'm focused one day at a time."
The maturity that Joey Logano has shown in the last year proves that he will be one of the NASCAR greats. Racing is not only about driving the wheels off your race car, but it is also about showing maturity on the track and making the right decisions. It will take some time, but Logano will make it to NASCAR's highest level of racing, and will become one of the greatest drivers and champions in the history of the sport.
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