Joey Logano Leads Ford Sweep in New Hampshire Qualifying
Joey Logano, the three-time Cup champion, led a sweep of the top three spots for Ford in qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, marking the start of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Logano, with his number 33 position on the pole in his career, and the second of this season, achieved a time of 29.159 seconds (130.622 mph) on the 1.058-mile oval aboard the No. 22 Ford.This is the first pole position for the Middletown, Connecticut native in New Hampshire, the scene of his first Cup victory in June 2009.
Ryan Blaney, teammate, secured the second place on the grid with the No. 12 Ford, thus ensuring that Team Penske would dominate the front row of qualifying for the second time this season. This is Penske’s eleventh pole at New Hampshire.“Man, it’s my home track,” expressed Logano, who also won in New Hampshire in 2014. “It feels really good to run well here. Hopefully we can capitalize on this.”
Joey Logano
Josh Berry, with the No. 21 Ford of Wood Brothers Racing, which has a competitive alliance with Penske, qualified third, recovering from elimination after three consecutive last-place finishes in the first round of the playoffs. Tyler Reddick finished fourth and William Byron fifth, with the playoff drivers occupying four of the top five starting positions. After sweeping the first round with three consecutive victories, the Joe Gibbs Racing team struggled on Saturday at a track where they have won three races in a row. Denny Hamlin was the team’s top qualifier in ninth place, while Christopher Bell, pre-race favorite and winner of two of the last three Cup races in New Hampshire, qualified in 19th place. The finishing positions for the remaining playoff drivers are: Ross Chastain in eighth place, Bubba Wallace in 14th, Kyle Larson in 16th, Chase Briscoe in 18th, Austin Cindric in 22nd, and Chase Elliott in 27th.“I feel good for Sunday,” said Blaney, who matched his best starting position in New Hampshire with a lap that was 0.170 seconds behind Logano. “I thought I was close to getting the pole until I saw the time. What a great lap by Joey and his team. It’s great to have a Penske front row.”
Ryan Blaney
