There aren't two young prospects in NASCAR hotter than Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. Both Sprint Cup Series rookies have bright futures, and both have a Cup win in 2009 after Logano scored on Sunday at New Hampshire.

But one's 19 years old, the other 25, and it's the younger one that's due to leave a more storied legacy despite near-equal opportunities and results so far in their blossoming careers.

“I don't think you think of a rookie up here lots of times, particularly in Joey's case,” Logano's team owner Joe Gibbs said. “So young, no testing, and so I don't think that was our mind set. You hope you would win one.”

You can't blame Keselowski for how he got to where he is, now exploring numerous options to run in both of NASCAR's top series in 2010. Keselowski came completely through the ranks – from racing for his family team, to being discovered by Dale Earnhardt Jr. to winning at stock car racing's highest level at Talladega last April.

The only thing is, Keselowski is more than six years older than a driver that's accomplished the same feats in a shorter amount of time.

When Logano was announced as the winner of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 amidst a rain storm at New Hampshire, he became not only the Sprint Cup Series' youngest winner ever, but solidified his position driving the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing for years to come.

“So we know today we were fortunate and we know that there will probably be some tough days out there for us, but [I'm] absolutely thrilled for Joey and his family, and for us, all of us at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Gibbs said. “We figure we can keep this going, ride this thing for about 20 years.”

Much criticism this season has been aimed at Logano since he wrecked out of the Daytona 500 early, then failed to record a top-10 finish until the circuit reached Talladega nine races into the season. Since then, the 19-year-old has posted three more top-10s counting his strategy-induced win last Sunday.

That's all pretty good considering the bottom line. This time last year, Logano was barely old enough to drive a NASCAR race car. Most up and comers his age are barely able to keep one out of the wall. Through all the highs and lows, Logano said he's discovered how truly difficult it is to race in the Sprint Cup Series.

“Well, I figured out that this sport is a roller coaster earlier this season,” Logano said. “I go up and down, up and down, up and down. And that is part of this sport. One week you can win and the next week you can be 43rd, and it's just like that. I've figured out in other series that it's tough.”

Where was Brad Keselowski at age 19? I don’t know. The same goes for now accomplished drivers like Martin Truex Jr., who turned 29 this weekend, and Denny Hamlin, who also spent a good amount of time behind the wheel of a late model waiting for a big break.

Starting out early, however, has aided Kyle Busch, who is only starting to break away from the field and expose his talents at 24 years old. Time will only tell where Logano will be at 24, already further in his development than Busch was six years ago.

Seeing the success of Busch, being thrown into the Cup Series at an equally early time in his career is only setting the stage for an illustrious career – a new era, according to Logano's crew chief Greg Zipadelli.

“It was great, obviously 11 years ago to win with Tony (Stewart), our first race, but this is a new era and we are excited to be here and excited to have one victory, and we are going to go look for some more,” Zipadelli said.

At only 19, there's plenty of time for Logano to carve a legacy with a team that has him set for years. When dealing out the criticism, that's sometimes hard for people to remember.