Joey Logano Out of the Hall of Fame Sprint Cup Car

In a story broken by ESPN's Marty Smith on "NASCAR Now," Joey Logano will be out of the No. 96 Hall of Fame Toyota Camry for the three remaining races he was scheduled to run with them this year at Charlotte, Martinsville, and Texas.

According to the story, both Hall of Fame Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing came to a mutual agreement to pull Logano from the No. 96. 

A statement aired on the program from Tom Garfinkel, principal owner of Hall of Fame Racing:

"It's a joint decision. We talked to Gibbs and both decided that for [Logano's] development and for our team, this is the best thing for both of us. The best thing for both of us is for them to focus on Joey's development and us to focus on our team."

According to Smith, Hall of Fame Racing feels that they need to get a veteran driver in the car, and everyone involved felt that Logano was not getting what he needed in terms of development. In short, it was not working out as hoped for either side.

Smith also said he had spoken with Logano's father and they are still planning on running in the No. 02 JGR Toyota at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and possibly one other race.

According to Logano's father, Joey would not make any more Cup starts in anything but JGR equipment this year.

When asked about the situation on the show, former Champion Crew Chief and car owner Andy Petree views this news as possibly being a good thing for Logano's development.

In particular, Petree said, "It really could thump his confidence if they keep him in this car and running at the back half of the field. It really doesn't help his development or his confidence."

Petree went on to say that with Logano's pending entry into the Cup Series full-time next year in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Logano should continue to run in the Nationwide Series where he could possibly win a couple more races and build his confidence.

[Photo Credit: M Brian Ladner]