The difference is that when Gordon made his first Cup start it was with a whole lot less fanfare than has accompanied the debut of the 18-year-old Logano.
That's because Gordon's first Cup race was the final event of the 1992 season and included a three-way title battle among eventual champion Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott and Davey Allison, as well as being the final race for NASCAR icon Richard Petty.
After a quiet start, crashing out in 31st place in his debut at the age of 21, Gordon has certainly lived up to his billing, becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport.
"He's hyped up way more than me and has more talent and experience than me at that age," Gordon said of Logano. "It's pretty impressive what he's been able to accomplish and do. I think he's great for our sport."
After running up to six Cup races this season, Logano will take the huge step next year of replacing two-time champion Tony Stewart -- who is heading off to his own team -- in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
"It's a little bit soon for him to become a full-time Cup driver," Gordon said. "But you've got to look at the situation and there was really no other option for Gibbs and for him. So he'll get a quick start and I think he'll do very well.
"Just looking at the practice times last week in Richmond, he was impressive right out of the box. These days, you don't have the luxury of testing like you used to. As a rookie, you could go and test a lot of these tracks before you raced at them. And you don't have that anymore. So, it's going to be even tougher on him and I think he'll live up to it."
Gordon said he expects Logano's biggest challenge to be handling all the off-track demands like the constant media attention, sponsor obligations and the adulation from fans.
Logano, who was unable to qualify last weekend at Richmond because time trials were rained out, made it into this week's race on car owner points, despite another rainout. He said Friday he is honored to be mentioned in the same breath with Gordon.
"There's a lot of anticipation coming into this deal," Logano said after it was confirmed he would race Sunday. "Going into the first Nationwide race it was a lot. I don't think it's a bad thing. You know, it gets your name out there and helps out your sponsor and all of that stuff. I'm used to it and I'm fine with the pressure.
"Jeff Gordon is one of the best drivers out here and he deserves to be recognized the way he is. My plan is just to do as good as he does," Logano added, laughing.
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GOOD ECONOMICS: Everyone knows the U.S. economy is struggling, but Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith says things don't look so bad in Sprint Cup.
An informal survey the Roush Fenway team recently did to see which primary sponsors from 2008 would remain for 2009 was surprisingly positive.
"There were 58 Cup sponsors that had primary paint schemes this year," Smith said on Friday. "And there's only a loss of two of the 58 for next year that we're aware of. One of them is AAA, that's still looking at participating in a number of races as primary, and the other one was Havoline (which will leave Chip Ganassi Racing).
"But, out of the 58, there were a number of them, about 12 or so, that had the opportunity to leave but elected to renew and stay. There's been no mass exodus whatsoever. To me, that's a really big testament to the Cup series."
The Roush team finalized its five-car lineup for next season with the announcement that UPS will move from David Reutimann's No. 44 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota to the No. 6 Ford of David Ragan in 2009. Earlier this year, Roush Fenway announced that Office Depot will stay with Carl Edwards on the No. 99 and Greg Biffle will have sponsorship from 3M on the No. 16. DeWalt has another year with Matt Kenseth on the No. 17, as does Crown Royal on the No. 26 with Jamie McMurray.
No Cup team will be allowed to have more than four cars after 2009, so Roush will have to shed one of its entries.
Smith said he has a better idea than simply restricting the teams to four cars.
"If they're worrying about restriction, tell the four manufacturers that they can't support more than 10 teams, as an example, and then let the teams fight out who gets up to 10," Smith said. "That keeps the parity because it means Toyota can't have 20 (teams) and General Motors can't have 25. If you're a small organization, you need multiples (of cars) because you can't compete without the money. It's always been about the money, not about the number of teams."
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SPARK PLUGS: Clint Bowyer, the defending champion of Sunday's Sylvania 300, led both Sprint Cup practice sessions Saturday. ... Eight of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the championship have won at least one Cup race at New Hampshire, led by Jeff Burton with four. Among the contenders, only Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth have not won here. ... Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kurt Busch (2004) are the only drivers who have swept both New Hampshire races in a single season. Busch has the opportunity to do it again after winning a rain-shortened event here in July.
Logano to make Sprint Cup debut this year
Adriano: Sevilla Still A Force
Gibbs to name Stewart replacement on Monday
