By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor
Joey Logano and Team Penske have been a formidable force since they teamed up in 2013 and after announcing a contract extension for the driver of the No. 22 Ford on Friday morning, the two will continue their journey together through at least the 2022 season.
Though Logano’s current contract does not expire until after next season, the organization wanted to strike while the iron is hot to lock down Logano and long-time sponsor Shell for the forseeable future.
“I’ve known my entire life I wanted to be a NASCAR Cup Series driver,” said Logano. “Now, to be able to know that I get the opportunity to drive for Roger Penske for the foreseeable future where I can focus solely on winning races and championships, is a life-long dream for me. To know that our executives, our sponsors, my team and all of the employees at Team Penske have that much faith in me means so much and that type of commitment really says a lot about this team and this organization.”
The 26-year old Connecticut native first came to Team Penske in 2013 and has seen his career take off from there, scoring 15 of his 17 career wins in the four years since, including the 2015 Daytona 500.
Logano is also coming off of his best career finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2016 with a runner-up finish in the points and both Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon seem primed for another run at the championship in 2017. Last season’s result continued a streak of top-10 points finishes since moving to Team Penske and gave Logano a place in the Championship Four in two of the last three seasons.
In addition to the Cup Series success, Logano has also prospered in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, scoring nine wins and helping the organization to three owner’s championships.
“We are so proud of the driver Joey has become since joining our team in 2013 and all the success he has been a part of on the No. 22 team,” said Roger Penske. “But more importantly, we are proud of the man that Joey has become. He has evolved into an effective leader both on and off the track. Joey is a great ambassador for all of our partners and his philanthropic work through his Joey Logano Foundation has been remarkable. Joey is the type of person we are proud to have at Team Penske and we are excited that he will be a big part of the team’s future for many years to come.”
The No. 22 team has already notched one win thus far in 2017 after scoring the win in last Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona. Logano will start Sunday’s Daytona 500 from 15th after an eighth place finish in the first of Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel races.
