Joey Logano (right) and crew chief Todd Gordon (left) pose with the Coors Light Pole Award after Logano scored the pole position in qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
If Joey Logano was looking for a good omen for Sunday, he found it on Friday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway.
Touring the two-mile track in 35.697 seconds (201.698 mph) during the final round of knockout qualifying for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400, Logano edged Jimmie Johnson (201.523 mph) for the top starting spot by .031 seconds.
The Coors Light Pole Award was Logano’s third at MIS. On the previous two occasions the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford started first on the grid—in August 2013 and June 2016—he won the subsequent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Should Logano win from the pole on Sunday, he would be the third driver to win three or more Michigan races from the top starting spot, joining NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson and Bill Elliott.
“Any time you put your name with a Hall of Famer of any sort, it would be really special for me,” said Logano, who has collected three poles this season and 16 in his career. “That’s crazy—that’s a really, really neat stat.
“We’ve got to do it though. But, obviously, starting up front here is an advantage, for sure. We talk about track position. We talk about safety on restart, being how crazy it is with the low-downforce package. And the first pit stall—probably the most important thing of all is keeping the track position through the race.”
And, of course, when Logano is fast in qualifying trim at MIS, he usually races well, too.
“I’m excited about it,” he said. “I thought our car was really fast in race trim earlier (in practice). … I didn’t think we were going to make it happen today (in qualifying), but (crew chief) Todd (Gordon) made some good adjustments, and he gave me a little pep talk, and I was ready to go. I was going to drive the heck out of that thing.”
Denny Hamlin (201.406 mph) qualified third, followed by Kevin Harvick (201.382 mph) and Chase Elliott (201.303 mph).
Johnson’s second-place start led a resurgence by Hendrick Motorsports, which placed all four cars in the top 12 during qualifying for only the second time this season, the first coming in May at Talladega, a restrictor-plate track.
“It was just an awesome day for this Lowe’s race car and this Lowe’s race team,” Johnson said. “We keep stacking pennies and making this car better and better.
“My hat’s off to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and all the hard work they’re putting into things. Great practice and great qualifying. We need some more practice sessions (Saturday) and roll them into a good race.”
Johnson participated in a NASCAR organization test (one car per team) on Tuesday at Chicagoland Speedway and found the session helpful in finding speed.
Indeed, the Hendrick cars more than held their own against the four entries from Joe Gibbs Racing, which have been the dominant force in Cup qualifying this season. Hamlin and Carl Edwards (ninth), were the only two JGR drivers to make the top 12, with Matt Kenseth qualifying 13th and Kyle Busch 16th.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, MI
Pure Michigan 400 – August 26, 2016
Friday’s Qualifying Results
1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 201.698 mph.
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 201.523 mph.
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 201.416 mph.
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5. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 201.303 mph.
6. (88) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 201.207 mph.
7. (21) Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 201.202 mph.
8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 201.039 mph.
9. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 201.005 mph.
10. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 200.462 mph.
11. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200.028 mph.
12. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 199.341 mph.
13. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 200.390 mph.
14. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 200.356 mph.
15. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 200.323 mph.
16. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200.245 mph.
17. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.106 mph.
18. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.017 mph.
19. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 199.253 mph.
20. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 199.203 mph.
21. (34) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 198.912 mph.
22. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 198.791 mph.
23. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 198.747 mph.
24. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 198.183 mph.
25. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 198.265 mph.
26. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 198.178 mph.
27. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 198.129 mph.
28. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 197.553 mph.
29. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 197.509 mph.
30. (44) Brian Scott #, Ford, 196.105 mph.
31. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 196.084 mph.
32. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 196.057 mph.
33. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 195.567 mph.
34. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 195.159 mph.
35. (95) Sam Hornish, Jr.(i), Chevrolet, 194.458 mph.
36. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 192.838 mph.
37. (98) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 192.072 mph.
38. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 191.939 mph.
39. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 188.966 mph.
40. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 0.000 mph.
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