Sprint Cup Chase 2014: Time to Rank Joey Logano Among NASCAR's Elite Drivers

If he hasn't done so already, Joey Logano needs to send a "thank you" note to his former boss, Joe Gibbs.

For if Gibbs had not given Logano his outright release to make room for Matt Kenseth at Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2012 season, Logano would likely never be where he's at today.

Logano earned his fourth win of the season, second-most to Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski's five triumphs, Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the second race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

In addition, Logano is now just one point behind Keselowski in the Chase standings.

When he wished Logano well for the future, it's likely Gibbs wasn't thinking how his young progeny would come back in such a short period of time and with such a vengeance to haunt his former team, but that's exactly what's happened.

Logano single-handedly has more wins by himself than all three JGR drivers have combined this season.

What's more, he looks like a legitimate championship contender, while at least one or maybe even two of JGR's three drivers—Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin—will be lucky to make it past the first Chase for the Sprint Cup elimination round following next Sunday's race at Dover International Speedway.

Did Gibbs give up on Logano too soon? An argument can be made for that.

But it's more likely that Logano was simply a victim of NASCAR's number's game. With JGR having only three teams, and with Kenseth—a former Sprint Cup champion—available and ready to jump from his former Roush Fenway Racing home, Logano was the odd man out.

At the same time, however, Gibbs did Logano the biggest favor of his career by making him available to be scooped up by legendary team owner Roger Penske.

And you can bet Penske has had a hearty laugh about that every day since. It's kind of like when the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees—and the rest became one of the greatest stories in sports history. Juan Pablo Montoya shared his thoughts:

Once free and clear of JGR, Logano enjoyed the best season of his Sprint Cup career in his first year with Team Penske last season, including qualifying for the Chase for the first time ever.

That would prove to be a sign of even bigger and better things to come.

This season, Logano has elevated himself to among Sprint Cup's top and most successful drivers. He and Keselowski have formed one of the most potent duos and teams in the sport.

While Hendrick Motorsports has enjoyed great success over the last decade, particularly with Jimmie Johnson's six championships in the last eight seasons, Team Penske has become arguably HMS's biggest and most successful rival this season.

With eight races remaining in the 10-race Chase, Keselowski and Logano—who have combined for nine wins in the first 28 races—have the potential to win several more races combined.

Together, the pair is like a locomotive that is hitting on all cylinders and is ready to roll over and pass anything and any team in its way.

Logano earned special satisfaction with Sunday's win because he considers New Hampshire Motor Speedway his "home" track. Having grown up in nearby Middletown, Connecticut, Logano said on ESPN Sunday that he watched his first Sprint Cup race in person at NHMS at the precocious age of five.

And that's where his dream of being a big-time race car driver began. Less than 20 years later, Logano is living out his dream in a big way.

Former Nationwide Series champ Randy LaJoie gave Logano the colorful nickname of "Sliced Bread" because, it seems, Logano's talent made him "the best thing since sliced bread."

That nickname has stuck with Logano for nearly a decade, as he worked his way up through the racing ranks to become a Sprint Cup star.

But with the way he has come into his own this season, maybe a better nickname for Logano going forward is "smooth operator," as he made Sunday's come-from-behind win look smooth as silk.

While runner-up Kyle Larson and third-place finisher Kevin Harvick were filled with angst and pressure in the closing laps of Sunday's race, Logano made his drive to the front and the checkered flag look more like a casual Sunday drive in the country.

That's not just the first time he's driven in such a cool, calm and collected manner. Rather, it's become Logano's trademark—and he's still just 24 years old.

If he's already so good at that age, imagine what he'll be like 10 years from now. How many more wins and championships will he have by then?

Yes, Logano truly owes Gibbs a great debt of gratitude for giving him his freedom.

Moreover, it's time that people stop referring to Logano as "the next big thing" in NASCAR and start mentioning his name alongside Keselowski and Johnson and Gordon and Harvick, as one of the truly elite drivers on the circuit.

Yes, Joey Logano is the future. And the future is now.

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.