With Stewart moving on, eyes turn to young Logano

Joey Logano has this weekend off. The 18-year-old NASCAR phenom isn't scheduled to compete again at the national level until next Saturday, in a Nationwide event at Gateway International Raceway outside St. Louis. But his absence in a racecar hasn't prevented him from becoming a major topic of conversation at Chicagoland Speedway.

Thursday's announcement that two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart will leave Joe Gibbs Racing at season's end has prompted questions as to whether Logano is the natural heir apparent in the No. 20 car, one of the most successful on the NASCAR circuit. He may have only turned 18 on May 24, and he may only have four Nationwide starts on his resume, but Logano has been hailed as a can't-miss prospect since he was in middle school, and lived up to billing by becoming the youngest Nationwide Series winner ever with his victory at Kentucky Speedway last month.

Although Logano reportedly considers himself a candidate for Stewart's soon-to-be former ride, team owners Joe and J.D. Gibbs -- who aren't expected to arrive at Chicagoland until Saturday -- ultimately will make that decision. Yet Logano's teammates at the Gibbs shop wouldn't seem surprised if the Middletown, Conn., native became their newest Sprint Cup driver next season.

"I think even when it comes to personnel at Gibbs, they like to promote from within," Denny Hamlin said. "I did not run a full season in the Nationwide Series before they moved me up. I told them I wasn't ready and they still said, 'Here's 500 laps, go get it. Figure it out on the racetrack.' They had a lot of faith in me even when I didn't. It's tough to say what qualifications you need to have to be capable of running in the Cup Series. I think more it just has to do with the competitors around you being comfortable, then you're ready. You can tell."

Mark Martin, who has championed Logano for years, wants to see it happen. "I think it will be really, really exciting if Gibbs puts Joey in the No. 20," he said. "I have been touting him since he was 12 years old, telling you guys he is coming."

Logano's limited time at NASCAR's national level belies his experience. As the Gibbs team's primary test driver, he's logged plenty of laps in Sprint Cup cars, even if he's yet to make his official debut in that series. Before he was old enough to compete in the Nationwide Series, he tested with some Sprint Cup teammates at Kansas and New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Crew chief Greg Zipadelli, who oversees the No. 20 operation, was surprised by the maturity Logano showed as well as the feedback he was able to provide.

"He's a remarkable young guy. He's very mature for his age," Zipadelli said.

Hamlin agrees. "Joey probably has more laps in a Cup car than all of us combined as much as he tests," he said. "With him doing all of our testing, there's more than just going out there and running fast, which we know he can do because he does it during the week for us. The racing thing is a lot different than what he's had to do in the past. It will take a little bit of time for him to get adjusted to that if he does get the ride. It's just going to take a matter of time. It's not going to take very long. If we had a team meeting next year and it was the three of us sitting in a room, I would take what he had to say just as much as what Tony was saying. He's just not your average rookie."

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Experience is priceless, you know. It's one thing to do it in other divisions, but when they feed you to the sharks out here on Sunday, you're going against the best in the world that have tons of experience.
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GREG ZIPADELLIBut he is inexperienced, splitting time in a No. 20 Nationwide car also shared by his three Sprint Cup teammates. As a result, his seat time has been limited -- just four starts this year, none since he recorded a runner-up finish in Milwaukee on June 21.

"Experience is priceless, you know. It's one thing to do it in other divisions, but when they feed you to the sharks out here on Sunday, you're going against the best in the world that have tons of experience," said Zipadelli, Stewart's crew chief for a decade.

"I think what we've seen so far, I think he has as good of a chance as any 18-year-old to come into this sport and succeed. I think what you've seen so far over the last few years is somebody that has it, shows it early and they find a way to deal with it. There will be some lumps. If he did it when he was 20, he'd still have some ups and downs. Look at Kyle [Busch] and what he went through the first few years and where he is today and how much more mature and because of that where his success is at so far this year is a lot of that. A lot of that is just his experience. All of us have had to deal with different things and learn over time. Can he do it? I think he's got as good of a shot as anybody else."

Hamlin believes Logano would adapt quickly. "You can just tell inexperience when you're around someone on the racetrack," he said. "There's people in the Nationwide Series that you could move up right now and they'd have no problem, and it would be easy for them, but maybe they're not in the best ride so you don't see their talents as well. I think Joey is a guy that could get it pretty quick. He's well beyond his age when it comes to experience. He's probably more my age when it comes to experience in a racecar because he started so early."

Of course, Hamlin is only 27. Moving Logano up to the Sprint Cup level next season would give the Gibbs camp something of a brat pack of drivers, given that Logano is 18 and current points leader Kyle Busch is 23.

"That'd be pretty cool," Busch said. " Obviously [Logano] would be a young guy there, and being able to have the rapport that the No. 20 car and Greg Zipadelli and all those guys have would be a good step for him. Whether or not that comes true, we've yet to find out. For anybody else, to step in that car would be good. Denny and I, hopefully we can lead the train of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers now."

Adding Logano to the lineup would make Hamlin the team's elder statesman. "That's pretty crazy," he said. "Have mercy on the rest of them."