NASCAR: 10 future Hall of Famers among 2020 drivers
By Asher Fair
Future NASCAR Hall of Famers: #5 – Joey Logano
He may not be there yet, but Joey Logano’s achievements so far in his NASCAR Cup Series career put him well on pace to become a Hall of Famer.
As noted in the slide about Matt Kenseth, only one driver has ever won a championship and not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Logano is already a champion, having won the 2018 title, and he has 26 career wins to his name, three shy of the current lowest total by a non-Hall of Famer.
Most notably, he only turned 30 years old last May. Only five other drivers in Cup Series history had won at least 20 races before turning 30, and only three had won at least 25.
All of those drivers, sans the active Kyle Busch (29 wins), are Hall of Famers, with Richard Petty leading the way at 60 wins, followed by Jeff Gordon at 55. Junior Johnson and Fireball Roberts, both of whom never won a championship, had 22 and 20 wins, respectively, to their names by their 30th birthdays.
Accomplishing historic feats well before most drivers is nothing new for Logano. He is the youngest race winner in Cup Series history and the youngest polesitter in Cup Series history.
Keep in mind, he was fired by Joe Gibbs Racing after four seasons that netted him just two wins. But Team Penske took a chance on him in 2013, and the rest is history.