Readers,
I am pleased to introduce as a new contributor Joe Chapman. I guess you could say Joe is kinda “old school” as he’s been going to races longer than there’s been a NASCAR. Not only has he been following NASCAR since the days of Big Bill France, he’s even turned a lap or two. Chapman had a buddy who raced a ‘55 Chevy and worked on his crew. Later, he did a little work on a drag racing car and Joe himself raced midgets in the 70s.
Without further delay…..here’s Joe Chapman, with his perspective on the mercurial rise of Joey Logano.
Today’s trivia question: Why is Joey the youngest winner in NA$CAR history?
Answer : Because most earlier drivers had to carry their own water.
One could argue that Joey has paid his dues, but not at this level. Lets look more closely at how this improbable event came to pass.
Mark Martin notices Joey, while supporting his son’s racing career. Mark is highly impressed, & justifiably so.Mark touts the kid in the strongest possible terms. As to the best of my knowledge, Matt Kenseth was the last driver that Mark was even remotely this impressed with. Given Mark’s reputation, & his record as a talent scout. Like E. F. Hutton, when Mark speaks, people listen.
Given that Jack has no room in his stable, plus the fact that the long time affiliation between Jack, & Mark has ended, Joey is signed by the Coach. So here’s Joey at 17 with a few ARCA races under his belt. Just waiting for the Big 18, to jump into one of the top Nationwide rides. No doubt the Coach has a pretty traditional path to Cup mapped out for him.
Pay attention, here’s where it begins to get a little weird!
Coach has one of the top teams in NA$CAR in the 20 team. The entire package: brash but absolutely top talented driver, one of the most respected Crew Chiefs, a high profile big money sponsor. A team that had remained largely intact, through two Cup Championships.
All of a sudden Gene Haas gets to thinking (he had plenty of time to think), “My team pretty much stinks. What to do?, What to do? Eureka! Maybe if I gave half my team to Tony, he could do more with it (Well, duh). Then the half will be better than the whole, I have now. He dangles the bait in front of Tony. Who rises it like a trout to a fly.
Now bingo, one of the best teams has an empty seat, while all the rest of the components remain in place.
Against all odds, and absent an heir apparent, Coach decides to put in the kid and Home Depot agrees to go along with it. Reportedly for a reduction in money, not a bad inducement in today’s economy.
Goodbye, carefully crafted plan. Hello, “O.J.T.” Joey predictably struggles, but his talent begins to show and after a rough start, things begin to look up.
Meanwhile back in Daytona, after the short tack style restart, had been well received in the Race of Champions and desperate for anything to add pizzazz to lackluster ratings. the decision was made to made to implement this in Cup immediately.
This improbable turn of events brings us to Loudon. Joey has a little trouble early, & goes a lap down. The car’s not killed, but it’s not helped either. A timely yellow now comes out. With the new rules, not only the LD, but 10 other cars, including Joey. Get the wave around, putting them back on the LL. as most of these cars had made a recent stop, they were able to stay on track. Then another caution allowed them to get back on sequence.
Due to the damage, and maybe just an average car, Joey goes back a lap down. Just then, another caution, and this time they are the Lucky Dog, allowing them to pit under yellow, but behind the lead lap cars, thus giving them a splash more fuel than the other lead lap cars.
The rest, as they say, “is history!” With the skills he possesses and if this string of events is any indication of his luck, don’t look for “Sliced Bread” to become “Toast” anytime soon.
