The way crew chief Jason Ratcliff sees it, he still has plenty of unfinished business this season with driver Joey Logano, but that doesn’t keep Ratcliff from looking forward to next year with relish.
Ratcliff will stay with the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team when Matt Kenseth succeeds Logano in that ride. JGR’s best efforts to put Logano in a fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup car stalled for lack of funding, and Logano found a new home at Penske Racing.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Ratcliff said of his imminent association with Kenseth. “I got to talk to him recently for the first time, and I think he could have a huge influence on the organization. With the experience he has, there’s no substitute for that, and I’m looking forward to what he has to bring to Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Ratcliff, in his first season as a Cup crew chief, still has 11 races left with Logano. Together, they engineered Logano’s second career Cup win this season, at Pocono.
“We all wish that Joey was staying,” Ratcliff said. “I’m just glad he’s got a good opportunity (with Penske). But we still have 11 races left, and he’s done a great job.”
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