Is Joey Logano Ready For a Sprint Cup Championship?

Although he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in 2013, it wasn’t until 2014 that Joey Logano finally had the long-awaited breakout season. Along with winning a career-high five races (Texas, Richmond, Bristol, Loudon, Kansas), he was a part of the Final Four at Homestead-Miami and even contended for the title before a pit road miscue left him fourth in the final standings.

However, 2015 opened with a bang, as Logano earned his ninth career win in the Daytona 500. He’s won twice more since (Watkins Glen, Bristol), and now he sits in the fourth spot in points entering the first race of the 2015 Chase. He’s found his home at Penske and has made the most of it by winning as often as possible. But now that he’s in the same position he was a year ago, can he finally seal the deal and win his first Sprint Cup championship?

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All evidence points to the affirmative. Sure, he’s young for a Sprint Cup veteran, having won his first Cup event and Rookie of the Year award in 2009 at the age of 19. Plus, a lot of his issues at Joe Gibbs Racing can be credited to the fact that he was so young. But now that he’s won nine races total for Penske in Cup as opposed to a lonely two wins at Gibbs, it’s safe to say he’s come into his own as a NASCAR star.

One thing that could be taken into consideration is despite briefly falling under the radar during the summer months, Logano has already garnered 20 top-10s in 26 races. In retrospect, Logano earned 22 top-10s throughout the entire 2014 season. He is well on pace to set some career-bests in 2015, at least in the top-10 category. He’s been more patient in 2015 than ever before, plus, he’s taken better care of his equipment. The few problems he has been in weren’t of his doing.

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Also, it’d do well to check his stats in 2015. He’s finished every race this year. He’s led 862 laps. He has an average start 7.2 and an average finish of 8.6. 16 of his 20 top-10s have been top-fives. Logano means business in 2015, and considering how his 2014 ended who could blame him?

His title chances are the best they’ve ever been largely in part to the fact that Logano has been able to effectively balance patience and aggressiveness. He doesn’t take any unnecessary risks with his equipment which has to make crew chief Todd Gordon a happy camper. This isn’t the Logano of old. This is a Logano who is bent on establishing himself as a threat to Kevin Harvick’s reigning supremacy.

He’s been stellar on all types of speedways this year, with emphasis on the larger tracks (1.5 – 2.0 miles). Granted, only one of his three wins this season occurred on a larger speedway (Daytona), but he’s been strong everywhere and may very well dethrone Harvick when Homestead-Miami is finished.

In other words, Logano is very ready for his first Sprint Cup championship in 2015.

Weigh in below if you think Logano is/isn’t fit for a Sprint Cup title in 2015.