Top management of Joe Gibbs Racing wouldn’t come out and say on Saturday that Joey Logano will replace Tony Stewart in the Sprint Cup series next season, but they didn’t say anything to indicate otherwise. Team owner Joe Gibbs and president J.D. Gibbs both agreed Logano will play a huge part in the organization going forward. They oozed with compliments for the 18-year-old phenom, who won his third Nationwide Series start and has three top 10s in four events. They talked about his maturity. They reminded that Stewart, who announced on Thursday he will leave the organization after this season to become the driver/owner at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, didn’t have a win when he partnered with Home Depot in 1999. “We’re going to look at everything out there before we make a decision,” J.D. Gibbs said before the Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway. “Generally, guys that are really gifted and real good show it right away. We’ve had a lot of drivers at JGR. All the good ones have popped right away. He has that.”(ESPN.com)(7-13-2008) UPDATE: Joey Logano says he isn’t campaigning to drive the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Sprint Cup car next season. Even so, the 18-year-old JGR Nationwide Series driver contends that he is interested in the ride, which will be vacated at season’s end by Tony Stewart. “Nothing has really changed,” said Logano at Gateway International Raceway. “It’s pretty much the same deal. If they offer it to me, I’d take it. It’s something that has been talked about but I’m not in a position to say anything. I don’t really know what I’m going to do yet. … I’m focused on the # 20 Nationwide car right now and from there that is [team owner] Joe [Gibbs] and [team president] J.D.’s [Gibbs] deal.”(SceneDaily.com)(7-20-2008)
