The hullabaloo surrounding young NASCAR phenom Joey Logano is reminiscent of the media mania that engulfed Nashville teenager Casey Atwood nine years ago. At the time Atwood was breathlessly billed as “NASCAR’s next Jeff Gordon.” Hopefully Logano’s comet won’t flame out as quickly as Atwood’s. When Logano won this summer’s race at Kentucky Speedway shortly after his 18th birthday, he replaced Atwood in the record book as the youngest winner in the history of NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. Logano has been accorded “can’t miss” status in terms of his superstar future. Atwood was given the same coronation when he came out of Fairgrounds Speedway. He was clean-cut, bright and personable, and a natural-born racer. He became an overnight success in the Busch Series and several top Sprint Cup team owners clamored for his autograph on a contract. See full story by Larry Woody at the Nashville City Paper.(8-19-2008)
