Expect to see New England native Joey Logano in a Sprint Cup Series ride at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a few weeks.
Joe Gibbs Racing officials have said all along that some Cup races are on the horizon for Logano this season, and it’s been widely reported that Logano will drive a Cup car for the first time at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 6.
Bet on a second Cup race for Logano eight days later at New Hampshire.
Logano is expected to replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Toyotas at JGR next year, and it’s a given that the team will want as much experience for the 18-year-old as they can get in the meantime. The key in doing that, of course, is not jeopardizing Logano’s Rookie of the Year contender status for next year.
If Richmond is the debut, that leaves 10 races to get Logano another six starts before he no longer qualifies as a Sprint Cup Series rookie, according to NASCAR’s guidelines.
Of those 10 races, Talladega Superspeedway is the only one we can surely say is out – because Logano (nod, nod, wink, wink) hasn’t been approved by NASCAR for a track that size.
In the meantime, we’ve got New Hampshire and Dover, tracks where he’s raced in Camping World Series competition. Logano also made his Nationwide Series debut at Dover just days after turning 18 earlier this season.
It’s a no-brainer that Logano, then, would be at tracks where he is already comfortable so he can begin the process of getting comfortable in the Cup cars. New Hampshire and Dover are at the top of the list.
The Cup race at Dover is one week after the NHMS date, on Sept. 21.
Comments