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Can we please stop talking about Joey Logano losing his ride now?
I know he has yet to live up to his potential as a driver, and has struggled mightily at times.
I know he's still got a long way to go until he can be considered among the best drivers in the sport.
But now that he has shown what he can do by winning from the pole at Pocono, I would say Joey Logano has earned a break from all the talk that he might be out of a ride next year.
Don't get me wrong; he definitely still has more to prove, but it's gotten a little ridiculous lately with people calling for him to lose his ride. I thought the TNT announcer was a bit harsh in Victory Lane, when he indicated that many people had thought Logano belonged in the Nationwide series. Sure he's struggled in Cup, but bumping him down a series is a bit harsh and goes beyond removing him from his current ride.
I've been a Logano backer from the start of his career, and still think he will grow into a superstar who wins regularly. Once he gets on a roll, the sky should be the limit.
A few points:
1. The kid is young. It doesn't seem that way cause he's been around a while, but that's because he started at 18 in Nationwide and moved straight up to Cup a year later. He has a couple decades left in his career; and has shown signs he can be great in the future. He's bad fast when he's in a good car, and is still improving.
2. Just because you drive for a winning team doesn't mean you'll win as much as your teammates. Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr.
If Logano deserves to lose his ride, so does Dale Jr. if you're going to base it on wins.
3. People had unrealistic expectations of Logano from the start. When you come in to the sport with a nickname like "sliced bread" and the public believes you'll be the next Jimmie Johnson instantly, you are bound to fall short of what people expect.
Logano is a good kid, with genuine talent and Gibbs is lucky to have him. You could tell he was positively thrilled with the result Sunday at Pocono, and was hoping the haters would step down their talk of him losing his ride.
"I hope it shuts them all up is what I hope. I tell you what, it just means a lot for this whole team. Jason Ratcliff (crew chief) to get his first Cup win for him -- man, it means so much. You don't understand. Man, it's just cool."
I'll just say this: Logano was probably safe in his ride before this win (really, what better free agent are they going to get?), and after the win he is almost 100 percent safe, especially if he goes on to make the Chase. Another win and a solid standing in the top 20 would make that almost a certainty, and he is very capable of achieving that.
So in closing, no I do not think Joey Logano is the next Richard Petty, but he is definitely worthy of his seat at Joe Gibbs Racing and will win more races and make Chases in the future.
And I don't think he'll be a free agent anytime soon.
posted by Matt Myftiu at
1:29 AM
5 Comments:
Not gonna happen Matt...there are many media members..and fans...who believe you really really really gotta beat the crap out of a dead horse! If you don't believe me just check the many columns still rehashing and analyzing the Kurt Busch saga!
Couldn't agree more. The young man has suffered fromwhat I call Eric Lindros syndrome. If you are not a hockey fan, I refer to the 18 year old player dubbed "The Next One" a play on the the Wayne Gretzky "Great One" moniker. Burdened with an overbearing set of parents who interfered constantly with his Philadelphia Flyers management. Management had issues too, but my point is that I don't see his annoying father getting his nose into everything as he did early on. Joey has to learn, act and win on his own, and, in my opinion, the next best thing is that Zippy has moved on to SHR. There is clearly a different Logano week after week and the change of crew chief and the lower profile of his overbearing father is, I believe, responsible for this improvement.
Couldn't disagree more with this article. Joey (or should I say Tom) Logano does not have what it takes in the Sprint Cup. Anyone pointing to his Nationwide wins has been blinded by the Logano driving a car that some have said "a monkey could win in".
Sprint cup takes a hell of a lot more to win. Joey has proved since 09 that he doesn't have what it takes. Look at his teammates, making the chase and winning races ever since Joey joined the team, and long before. Look at the history of the 20 car before Joey, remember what it could do when Tony drove it?
Time for Logano to lose his ride and someone step up. He's had his shot to show his stuff, and is frankly a waste of space in the car. If Stenhouse could land in that ride I'm confident it would be a multiple race winner in the first season.
Out with "sliced bread" already!
Couldn't disagree more with this article. Joey (or should I say Tom) Logano does not have what it takes in the Sprint Cup. Anyone pointing to his Nationwide wins has been blinded by the Logano driving a car that some have said "a monkey could win in".
Sprint cup takes a hell of a lot more to win. Joey has proved since 09 that he doesn't have what it takes. Look at his teammates, making the chase and winning races ever since Joey joined the team, and long before. Look at the history of the 20 car before Joey, remember what it could do when Tony drove it?
Time for Logano to lose his ride and someone step up. He's had his shot to show his stuff, and is frankly a waste of space in the car. If Stenhouse could land in that ride I'm confident it would be a multiple race winner in the first season.
Out with "sliced bread" already!
Well said, I am constantly sticking up for this kid who obviously has talent, he is only 22 years old and is getting better all the time, its not his fault the expectations were so high, his father has been out of the picture for awhile, I think he has handled the pressure very well and is a great kid who does alot of good things in his off time, he has a huge fan base...
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