Joseph Thomas Logano

Logano was born in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of Deborah B. and Thomas J. Logano; his father is of Italian ancestry. As a child he played ice hockey alongside racing. The family initially lived in Portland near the Connecticut River before moving to Georgia to further his racing career. Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Randy LaJoie nicknamed him "Sliced Bread."

Logano began racing in 1996 as a six-year-old quarter midget racer. In 1997 he won his first Eastern Grand National Championship in the Junior Stock Car Division, followed by a Junior Honda Division Championship in 1998, and multiple New England Regional Championships in 1999. He later raced in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, winning once at Mansfield in the Northern Division and twice in the Southern Division at South Georgia Motorsports Park and USA International Speedway.

In 2007, a new NASCAR rule allowed drivers aged sixteen and up to race in the Grand National Division. Logano won the 2007 Camping World East Series championship with five wins at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Iowa Speedway, New Hampshire International Speedway (twice), and Adirondack International Speedway. He also won his single NASCAR West Series start at Phoenix International Raceway. On October 20, 2007, he won the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway, leading 87 laps and holding off Peyton Sellers.

On May 4, 2008, Logano won the Carolina 500 during his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut with Venturini Motorsports at Rockingham Speedway. He also made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Talladega, finishing 26th in the Mountain Dew 250.

Logano became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history when he won the 2008 Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway in only his third start, at 18 years, 21 days old — surpassing the previous record held by Casey Atwood set in 1999.

In 2012, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Logano won nine times in the Nationwide Series, the most of any driver that season. The JGR No. 18 Nationwide car won the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Owners Championship partly due to Logano's contributions. In 2013, now at Team Penske, he won four consecutive races at Dover International Speedway across multiple seasons — the only driver to accomplish that feat in any series at that track.

In March 2015, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, Logano won his first Camping World Truck Series race in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway, starting from pole and leading 150 of 258 laps. This made him the 26th different driver to win in all three of NASCAR's major divisions. In 2023, Logano drove the ThorSport Racing No. 66 to victory at the Bristol dirt race, leading 138 of 150 laps.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced on August 25, 2008 that Logano would drive the No. 20 Home Depot-sponsored Toyota Camry in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series, replacing Tony Stewart who left to form Stewart-Haas Racing. Logano's official debut came at the 2008 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire on September 14, 2008, making him the first NASCAR driver born in the 1990s to run a Cup Series event.

In 2009, Logano won the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 28, beating Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart to become the youngest winner ever in the Sprint Cup Series at 19 years, one month, and four days old. The previous record had been held by Kyle Busch at 20 years, 125 days. Logano was named the 2009 Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year, beating out Scott Speed and Max Papis.

In 2010, Logano won his first Coors Light Pole Award on March 19 for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing the season sixteenth in the final standings with seven top-fives and sixteen top-tens.

In 2012, Logano won his second Sprint Cup race at the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway, bumping Mark Martin with four laps to go and holding off Martin and Tony Stewart. He was the first driver in thirty races to win from pole position. On September 4, 2012, it was announced Logano would leave Joe Gibbs Racing for Penske Racing in 2013, following the announcement that Matt Kenseth would drive the No. 20 Toyota.

Logano moved to Team Penske to drive the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil-sponsored Ford. His breakout moment came at the 2013 Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, where he qualified at a track-record 203.949 mph — at the time the ninth fastest qualifying speed in NASCAR history and the fastest since Bill Elliott's run at Talladega in 1987. The win sent him into his first-ever Chase for the NASCAR Cup.

In the 2013 season, Logano and teammate Brad Keselowski were penalized 25 points each following a rear-end housing infraction at the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway; crew chief Todd Gordon was also fined $100,000 and suspended six weeks.

In 2014, Logano won at Texas Motor Speedway with a last-lap pass on Jeff Gordon, at Richmond after a multi-car shuffle in the final nine laps, and at Bristol in the Irwin Tools Night Race — the latter giving Team Penske its second 1–2 finish in history, after the 2008 Daytona 500. He also won at New Hampshire and Kansas during the Chase. Logano was the first driver to start the Chase with five consecutive top-five finishes, surpassing the previous record of four set by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009. On September 25, 2014, Logano signed a multi-year contract extension with Team Penske through at least 2018.

In 2015, Logano won the Daytona 500, becoming the second-youngest winner at 24 years of age, behind only Trevor Bayne. The win gave team owner Roger Penske his second Daytona 500 victory, his first having come with Ryan Newman in 2008. Logano also swept the Contender Round of the Chase, winning at Charlotte, Kansas (passing Matt Kenseth by spinning him out), and Talladega. The following week at Martinsville, Matt Kenseth deliberately crashed Logano in retaliation; Kenseth was suspended for two races and placed on probation. Logano was eliminated from the Chase at Phoenix and finished sixth in the final standings.

In 2016, Logano won the Sprint Cup All-Star Race, the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the Talladega Chase race in overtime, and a race at Phoenix to reach the Championship 4 at Homestead. At Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading with ten laps remaining, Logano came into contact with race leader Carl Edwards, spinning Edwards into the wall. Logano's car was too damaged to contend further, and he finished fourth in the race and second in the standings to Jimmie Johnson.

Logano's 2017 season was marked by an encumbered win at Richmond — NASCAR declared victory legal but not playoff-eligible due to a rear suspension issue discovered post-race — and a dramatic brawl with Kyle Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway following a final-lap collision. A brake failure at Kansas caused Logano to crash into Danica Patrick, with Aric Almirola being airlifted to hospital. Logano missed the playoffs for the first time since his final year at Joe Gibbs Racing.

In 2018, Logano won the GEICO 500 at Talladega to enter the playoffs, then won the fall Martinsville race leading 309 of 500 laps to secure his spot in the Championship 4. At Homestead, he passed Martin Truex Jr. on the high side with 12 laps to go to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. He finished the season with three wins, thirteen top-five finishes, and 26 top-ten finishes with an average finish of 10.7.

In 2019, Logano won at Las Vegas for his 22nd Cup win, noting it was his 22nd spring race at Las Vegas in the No. 22 Pennzoil car. His title defense ended in the Round of 8 after a post-race altercation with Denny Hamlin at Martinsville, in which NASCAR suspended Logano's tire technician Dave Nichols Jr. for one race.

In 2020, Logano won at Las Vegas and Phoenix, advanced to the Championship 4 by winning at Kansas, and finished third in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.

In 2021, Logano won the inaugural Bristol Dirt race and reached the Round of 8 before being eliminated after Martinsville. He finished eighth in the standings.

Logano won the 2022 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum, scored wins at Darlington and the inaugural Gateway race during the regular season, then won at Las Vegas to make the Championship 4 and at Phoenix to claim his second Cup Series title. After winning, he paid tribute to Coy Gibbs — son of his former boss at Joe Gibbs Racing — who died the day before Logano lifted his trophy.

In 2023, Logano won at Atlanta in the regular season. He was eliminated in the Round of 16 at Bristol after a multi-car wreck. Team Penske continued its championship streak with teammate Ryan Blaney winning the title.

In 2024, Logano won the NASCAR All-Star Race leading 199 of 200 laps, earning $1 million. He scored his first points-paying win at Nashville, surviving a record five overtimes and 110 laps without a fuel stop. During the playoffs, Logano won at Atlanta to advance to the Round of 12. After a retirement at Talladega, the disqualification of Alex Bowman from the Roval race promoted him to the Round of 8. He then won at Las Vegas on a fuel-saving strategy and a late overtake on Daniel Suárez, locking into the Championship 4. At Phoenix, after winning Stage 1 and executing a three-wide pass during a Stage 3 restart, Logano held off teammate Ryan Blaney to win his third Cup Series championship. His title was noted for an average finish of 17.1, the lowest of any Cup Series champion to that point.

Logano was diagnosed with Alopecia areata in September 2019, an autoimmune disorder that attacks hair follicles, causing patches of thinning hair or baldness. On November 13, 2013, he announced his engagement to Brittany Baca; the couple married on December 13, 2014, and have three children. In April 2019, Logano was invited to the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In October 2009, Logano co-hosted an episode of WWE Raw with Kyle Busch. He appeared in Cartoon Network's Destroy Build Destroy and in the A&E series The Glades. He appeared alongside Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! and had a cameo as a security guard in the 2017 film Logan Lucky. In October 2015, he appeared on 60 Minutes with a Make-A-Wish child, Gavin Grubbs.

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