In his quest to defend his NASCAR Cup Series championship and win a fourth overall, Joey Logano is on the verge of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s fourth In-Season Tournament event of the year at Dover Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry will make his 600th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Middletown, Connecticut, Logano made his Cup Series debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2008. By then, he was campaigning on a part-time basis for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the Xfinity Series. He also became the youngest winner in the series after winning at Kentucky Speedway three months earlier at age 18 years and 21 days.
It was also announced that he would drive JGR’s iconic No. 20 Toyota Camry entry in the 2009 Cup season in August. He would replace two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, as he would drive for his self-owned team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
He drove the No. 96 Toyota Camry entry for Hall of Fame Racing for his Cup debut at New Hampshire. Logano started 40th and finished a season-best 32nd place. He made two additional Cup starts in the 2008 season, finishing 39th while driving for Hall of Fame Racing at Kansas Speedway in late September. Logano then finished 40th in a fourth JGR entry (No. 02 Toyota) at Texas Motor Speedway in November.
In 2009, Logano’s first full-time campaign in the Cup Series and as the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota entry commenced on a low note. After contact from Greg Biffle, Logano spun and slapped the inside wall towards the frontstretch. He hit head-on and finished in 43rd place, dead last. He finished no higher than 13th during his next seven starts before recording his first three top-10 results in three of his next four starts.
Within the four-race span, he led 19 laps during his first Southern 500 run at Darlington Raceway in May. He also made his first All-Star Race start at Charlotte Motor Speedway after he transferred from the All-Star Open by claiming the Fan Vote title, where he finished eighth.
Then, after finishing no higher than 15th during his next four starts, Logano utilized a strategic pit call to score his first Cup career victory in a rain-shortened event at New Hampshire in late June. The victory occurred after the Connecticut rookie rallied from spinning in Turn 4 on Lap 180 due to cutting a left-rear tire to assume the lead on Lap 264.
He would lead the next 10 laps and remain ahead of Jeff Gordon before the event was delayed and eventually declared official due to inclement weather. As a result, Logano became the youngest winner in the Cup Series history at age 19 years, one month and four days, a record that he still holds as of July 2024.
Despite missing the 2009 Playoffs, Logano would finish in the top 10 an additional three times throughout the final 19 events on the schedule. With a 20th-place result in the final standings, he wrapped up the Rookie-of-the-Year title over Scott Speed.
Compared to his rookie Cup season, Logano commenced his sophomore Cup campaign in 2010 by finishing the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 both on the lead lap and in 20th place. He accomplished this despite being involved in a late incident with Bill Elliott. He then recorded a total of three top-five results and 10 top-10 results throughout the remaining 25-race regular-season stretch.
Within the span, he finished a season-best second place at Martinsville Speedway. He also claimed his first Cup Series career pole at Bristol Motor Speedway, both of which occurred in March. Despite missing the Playoffs for a second consecutive season, he capped off the 2010 season on a strong note.
Logano earned six top 10s during the 10-race Playoff stretch and finished in 16th place in the final standings. He also improved his average finish from 20.5 to 16.2 and doubled his total top-five and top-10 results from his rookie season.
The 2011 Cup Series season was a difficult season for Logano. He only notched a total of four top-five results and six top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule. During the season, he captured a pair of season-best results. He scored a third-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May and at Daytona in July. Logano also claimed two poles at Sonoma Raceway and Pocono Raceway, and surpassed 100 career Cup Series starts. But, he fell back to 24th place in the final standings.
Logano rebounded in 2012. He doubled his total top-10 results from six to 12, improving his average finishing result from 19.1 to 17.4. Logano also tripled his total laps led from 58 to 190. During the season, Logano made a triumphant return to Victory Lane in the Cup Series.
He bumped and overtook Mark Martin with four laps remaining to claim his second career win. It was his first while also completing all scheduled distances in an event. He missed the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. But he improved on his final points result by seven spots, from 24th to 17th.
In September 2012, it was announced that Logano would join Team Penske and drive the No. 22 Ford Fusion entry in 2013. The 2003 Cup champion, Matt Kenseth, would replace the latter at JGR. He commenced his first full-time season with Penske by finishing 19th during the 55th running of the Daytona 500. Logano endured an eventful start through the first four scheduled events, finishing no higher than 12th on the track.
During his latest start at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, he engaged in a post-race confrontation with former teammate Denny Hamlin. This was due to an early run-in as Hamlin spun Logano towards the outside wall through the first two turns. Logano would then return the favor.
On the final lap, while battling Hamlin for the victory at Auto Club Speedway, he made contact with Hamlin. It resulted in Logano slapping the outside wall through the final two turns and Hamlin hitting the inside wall head-on. Despite finishing third, Logano engaged in a post-race scuffle with Tony Stewart. This was due to Stewart expressing his displeasure over being blocked by Logano on the final restart period with 11 laps remaining.
Amid the eventful start in 2013, Logano finished in the top 10 during his next 17 scheduled starts 10 times. At Michigan International Speedway in August, Logano led a race-high 51 of 200 laps from the pole position. He then capitalized on Mark Martin running out of fuel with four laps remaining.
He captured his third Cup career victory and first while driving for Team Penske. The Michigan victory enabled Logano to place himself in contention to make the Playoffs. Logano finished fifth, second and 22nd throughout the remaining three regular-season events to clinch his first berth in the Playoffs. It was his first appearance as a title contender by a slim margin.
His title hopes took an early hit due to an engine failure during the Playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway. However, Logano capped off the final nine events on the schedule by finishing in the top nine five times. He settled in eighth place in the final standings. Overall, he had also earned an extra nine top-five results, seven additional top-10 results and tripled his laps led. He also boosted his average finishing result to three spots (14.1) compared to his final season at Joe Gibbs Racing.
The following three seasons (2014-16) were breakout years for Logano. The Connecticut native scored a total of 14 victories, including the 2015 Daytona 500. He also won back-to-back Bristol Night Races between 2014 and 2015, and back-to-back fall Talladega Superspeedway victories between 2015 and 2016. He swept the Round of 12 trio of events.
Logano also claimed the 2016 All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway following a late battle with Kyle Larson. In addition to the race victories, he accumulated 10 poles, 54 top-five results, 76 top-10 results and 3,127 laps led. He also recorded a career-best average finishing result of 9.2. Logano also led a career-high 1,431 laps and obtained a career-high 22 top-five finishes and 28 top-10 finishes in 2015.
Amid the competitive success during all three seasons, he fell short of winning his first title. This was due to a jack dropping out of his car during a late pit stop during the 2014 finale. He missed the Championship 4 round in 2015 after he was intentionally wrecked by Matt Kenseth during the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway.
The incident was payback for an incident two races earlier and for being involved in a late incident with title contender Carl Edwards during the 2016 finale. Within the three seasons, Logano’s highest points result was second in 2016.
In 2017, Logano endured a difficult season despite commencing the year by winning the non-points Clash at Daytona in February. Two months later, he recorded his first points-paying victory of the season at Richmond in his 300th Cup career start. Ultimately, the Richmond victory was ruled as encumbered and did not guarantee him a Playoff berth.
This was due to his race-winning car having a rear suspension issue during the post-race inspection process. Over his next 17 starts, he finished outside the top 20 10 times. This resulted in him missing the Playoffs for the first time since 2012. During the 10-race Playoff stretch, Logano finished in the top 10 in half of the stretch. He settled in 17th place in the final standings.
For a majority of the 2018 Cup season, Logano endured a consistent year. He achieved a single regular-season victory at Talladega in April to return to the Playoffs. He maintained the consistency to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. Then, he bumped, rubbed and edged Martin Truex Jr. to win the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville. In doing so, he clinched a Championship 4 berth.
Three races later, Logano overtook Truex with 12 laps remaining. He continued to win the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, achieving his first Cup Series championship. He became the 32nd competitor to win a title in NASCAR’s premier series. It was also the second Cup title for Team Penske.
Over his next three Cup campaigns (2019-21), Logano notched a total of six victories. They included back-to-back spring Las Vegas Motor Speedway events during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He also won the inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course event in 2021. He made the Championship 4 round in 2020 and finished in third place in the final standings.
But he fell short during the 2019 and 2021 seasons. Logano ended up in fifth and eighth, respectively, in the standings. During the seasons, he recorded 34 top-five results, 61 top-10 results and 2,291 laps led. He also reached 400 Cup career starts after taking the green flag at the Daytona 500 in 2020.
During the 2022 season, Logano roared out of the gate, winning the inaugural Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He then claimed regular-season victories at Darlington Raceway in May and the series’ inaugural event at World Wide Technology Raceway in June. He made the Playoffs for the ninth time in his career.
After transferring from the Round of 16 to 8 by points, he clinched a Championship 4 berth for the fifth time after winning the Round of 8’s opener at Las Vegas. Then, during the finale at Phoenix Raceway, Logano led a race-high 187 of 312 laps, including the final 30.
He won both the race and his second Cup Series championship, making him the 17th competitor to win multiple titles in NASCAR’s premier series. By then, he surpassed 500 Cup career starts.
Compared to the 2022 season, the 2023 Cup season featured Logano winning only once at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. Despite clinching his 10th career Playoff berth, he was involved in a multi-car wreck midway through the Round of 16 finale at Bristol. The incident knocked him out of title contention and relegated him to 12th place in the final standings.
He rallied this past season. Logano won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May, Nashville Superspeedway in June and the Playoff opener at Atlanta in September. This enabled him to transfer to the Round of 12. His title hopes initially evaporated following the Round of 12. But he was vaulted back into the Playoffs when Alex Bowman was disqualified from further contention.
He won the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas amid a late pit strategy to make the Championship 4 round for the sixth time in his career (all of which have occurred in even years). Logano then fended off a late challenge from teammate and title contender Ryan Blaney to win the finale at Phoenix and claim his third Cup Series championship, which made him the 10th competitor overall to achieve at least three titles in NASCAR’s premier series.
Through 599 previous starts in the Cup Series, Logano has achieved three championships, 37 victories, 32 poles, 169 top-five results and 292 top-10 results. He has led 9,252 laps and has an average finishing result of 14.3. Logano achieved his first victory of the 2025 season at Texas Motor Speedway in May. To go along with a pole, he has two top-five results, five top-10 results, 358 laps led and an average finish of 17.2 through 20 scheduled starts.
Logano is currently ranked in 11th place in the 2025 driver standings. With 16 races remaining on this year’s schedule overall, Logano is in pursuit of becoming the fifth competitor to achieve at least four championships in NASCAR’s premier series.
He is scheduled to make his 600th Cup Series career start at Dover Motor Speedway for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 and for the penultimate In-Season Tournament of this year. The event is slated to occur next Sunday, July 20, and air at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
