“I had to wait in order to hire him”: Roger Penske comes clean on his nervous ‘fingers crossed’ moment behind Joey Logano’s hiring from JGR

With 47 national championships in the bag, Team Penske is inarguably one of the premier organizations in the world of auto racing. Even then, the leadership at Penske had to wait for days before it could finally sign Joey Logano for its NASCAR Cup Series program.

The story was revealed by team owner Roger Penske himself during an interview with Kevin Harvick. Logano was there as well. It turns out that the 88-year-old automotive tycoon had his “fingers crossed” for a whole week as coach Joe Gibbs was trying out the then 22-year-old Logano.

“It's ironic that Brad Keselowski was the one that came to me and said, 'Look, we should get Logano to run with us.'” recalled Penske. “Obviously, that was an authorization you might say or a good reference from the standpoint what Brad saw him and he came onboard and it was interesting because I had to wait in order to hire him because Joe Gibbs said. 'look I'm gonna maybe, get him a Cup ride right away; you wait a week'.” (3:00 onwards)

“I waited a week with my fingers crossed hopefully that he'd be available,” he added as Logano listened on.

But hiring Logano did pay off. The man took Roger Penske to not one, not two, but three NASCAR Cup Series championships. None of the current Joe Gibbs Racing drivers has three titles in the bag. Denny Hamlin, who is in his 20th year driving for JGR, holds the record for most wins without ever winning a championship.

“I don't know if I'm the best driver but I've got the best team,” Logano said after sealing the deal at Phoenix last season. “And together, we're very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most.”

2025 marks Joey Logano’s 13th year with Team Penske. He recently competed in the annual Daytona 500 but had to walk home with a disappointed P35 finish. But he does have a Daytona 500 win under his belt, which came back in 2015. Next up is the Ambetter Health 400 scheduled for Sunday, February 23.

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Former NASCAR driver shares views on Kyle Busch dissing Joey Logano following recent Daytona outing

Kyle Busch was hoping for a good start to the 2025 season when he strapped himself to his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy ahead of the 67th Daytona 500, which was held last Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. But he got caught up in a wreck between Joey Logano and fellow racer Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Hyak Motorsports, formerly JTG Daugherty Racing.

Needless to say, Busch wasn’t happy and blamed Logano for it. Just recently, NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton shared his views on the matter.

“Kyle Busch did nothing wrong and got wrecked, so he was mad,” said Burton.

“I think the other factor in this is when Joey said, ‘I had a chance to get in front of the 4,’ not only is it a Ford, it’s the middle,” Burton further explained. “I think he wanted to be in the middle lane rather than the outside lane…”

Just like Logano, Busch too got handed his first DNF of the season and ended up 34th in the 41-car field. Winning the Daytona 500 would have been a first for the two-time Cup Series champion and an unmistakable nod to the great Dale Earnhardt, who bagged his lone Daytona 500 victory in his 20th attempt as well.

But it seems Busch will have to wait for an entire year to add that feather to his already impressive resume.