Joey Logano Leads Ford Sweep in NASCAR Qualifying at New Hampshire
Joey Logano, three-time Cup Series champion, led a sweep for Ford in the qualifying for the start of the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Logano secured the pole position, the 33rd of his career and the second of this season. The driver of the Ford No. 22 completed a lap in 29.159 seconds (130.622 mph) on the 1.058-mile oval.This is Logano’s first pole position at New Hampshire, a track where he earned his first Cup Series victory in June 2009. “It’s my home track,” declared Logano, who also won at New Hampshire in 2014. “It’s great to run well here. Let’s hope to capitalize on this.”
Ryan Blaney, Logano’s teammate, will start second in the No. 12 Ford, thus securing the front row for Team Penske for the second time this season. This is Penske’s eleventh pole position at New Hampshire.Josh Berry, with the No. 21 Ford of Wood Brothers Racing (allied with Penske), qualified third, recovering from being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Tyler Reddick qualified fourth and William Byron fifth, demonstrating the competitiveness of the playoff drivers by occupying four of the top five starting positions on the grid. After dominating the first round with three consecutive victories, Joe Gibbs Racing 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, who has won 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. 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
