Joe Gibbs' Drivers

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch is a very talented 23 year old driver who started racing at the age of 13. You've probably heard of Kyle Busch by now and winning is not new to him. From the time Kyle was introduced to cars his parents instilled in him 2 very valuable lessons: School work always came first and Kyle was responsible for working on, repairing, and paying for his own cars. He quickly learned that he had to be careful on the track or otherwise he might wreck and not race the next weekend. From 1999 to 2001, Kyle Busch racked up more than 65 (!) wins in legends cars and won two championships. He moved on to Late Models and won 10 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2002 he graduated high school a year early with honors. At 16, he ran his first NASCAR race in the Craftsman truck series for Roush Racing. He ran well but had to stop racing after six starts, because NASCAR put a rule into place that said you have to be 18 years of age to race in any of the top three NASCAR series. As soon as he was 18, he immediately started racing in NASCAR again, but this time up one level, in the Nationwide Series. He won 5 races which is the most any rookie has won. In 2005 he moved up to the Sprint Cup Series driving for Rick Hendrick. He set two records for youngest pole winner and youngest race winner. In 2007, he won the first ever Car Of Tomorrow race at Bristol. For 2008, Kyle signed with Joe Gibbs Racing. He replaced J.J. Yeley in the #18 car. Kyle has won 7 times this year in NASCAR Sprint cup Series, 6 times in Nationwide Series, and twice in the Craftsman Truck Series. He currently leads the Sprint Cup Series in points with a 176 point lead. Because Kyle is so well known he has many nicknames such as, Rowdy Busch, Wild Thang, and Shrub. People often compare him to the late Dale Earnhardt.

Joey Logano

Joey Logano is another driver that Joe Gibbs has successfully chosen to possibly be the face of their organization. He is only 18 years old but people say he acts way older. Joey got his start in quarter midgets at only 6 years old! He won championships is almost every thing he raced. At 13 He and his family moved to Georgia where he raced in the GA Late Models. He raced many places in Georgia including Albany and won several races. In 2005, Joey signed a development deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. He then started racing the Hooters Pro Cup Series at just 15. In just his second start in that series, he won! In 2007, he raced in the Nascar Busch East Series, where he won seven races and rookie of the year. In 2008 he moved to the Nationwide series racing the #20. He had to wait until after his birthday, May 24, so he would be 18. He moved into a highly successful car that has now won with 4 different drivers. Joey got great hype coming in. In his first start, he finished sixth. In a post race interview he said, “Well, sixth ain’t nothing in my book.” That shows how competitive he is. He won his first Nationwide race at Kentucky Speedway in just his 3^rd start! He runs a limited schedule in Nationwide. He continues to be successful in the Nationwide Series, running a limited schedule. Team owner, Joe Gibbs has even said that he might race a few races in Sprint Cup later on this year. Since Tony Stewart announced he was leaving JGR, there has been much speculation that Joey could move up to Sprint Cup replacing Tony in the #20. Joey has been called “The Real Deal” by Mark Martin and his famous nickname is “Sliced Bread” because he is the next best thing since sliced bread. Joey has an incredible career ahead of him, and I hope he does get the #20 ride next year!

tag: Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, Nascar, Toyota, Nascar Nationwide Series, Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano