Joey Logano won the pole award for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Déjà vu will be just fine for Joey Logano.
The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford won the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series spring event at Darlington Raceway from the pole.
After edging Christopher Bell for the top starting position in Saturday’s time trials, Logano will have a chance to repeat the feat in Sunday’s Playoff opener, the Cook Out Southern 500.
In the final round of qualifying, Logano negotiated the 1.366-mile egg-shaped speedway in 29.181 seconds (168.521 mph) and waited to see if the lap would hold up.
The last driver to make a qualifying run, Bell (168.469 mph) lost time in turns 3 and 4 and fell just .009 seconds short of Logano’s time.
“I love winning,” exalted Logano, who earned his second Busch Light Pole Award of the season and the 24th of his career. “When you fire off in the Playoffs, you want to have a good start to it. This (No. 1) pit stall here is so important — it really helped us win the race here in the spring.
“(Crew chief) Paul (Wolfe) did a good job adjusting on our car from the spring race and even from practice as well. We keep trying to find the speed and got a couple of poles here at Darlington this year.”
Logano completed the first season sweep of pole positions at the Lady in Black since Sterling Marlin accomplished the feat in 1992. Marlin, however, finished 22nd and 28th in the two races.
Logano and Bell were two of eight Playoff drivers who advanced to the final round of qualifying. The exceptions were eighth-place qualifier Bubba Wallace, who is competing for the owners’ championship in the No. 45 23XI Toyota, and 10th-place Michael McDowell.
William Byron (168.186 mph) will start third on Sunday beside Tyler Reddick (167.853 mph). Kyle Busch claimed the fifth position on the grid, and Austin Cindric will start sixth. Reigning series champion Kyle Larson was seventh and Ryan Blaney ninth.
Regular season champion Chase Elliott qualified 23rd.
The No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Playoff driver Daniel Suarez failed pre-qualifying inspection three times. Suarez was not allowed to qualify and will start from the rear of the field on Sunday.
In addition, the No. 99 Camaro must serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag. Suarez also lost pit selection and the services of car chief Eddie d’Hondt, Jr. for the Playoff opener.
NASCAR Cup Series
Darlington Raceway – Darlington, SC
Cook Out Southern 500 – September 3, 2022
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford 29.181 168.521
2. 20 Christopher Bell (P) Yahoo! Toyota 29.190 168.469
3. 24 William Byron (P) Valvoline Chevrolet 29.239 168.186
4. 8 Tyler Reddick (P) Lenovo Chevrolet 29.297 167.853
5. 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M’s Toyota 29.323 167.705
6. 2 Austin Cindric # (P) Discount Tire Ford 29.336 167.630
7. 5 Kyle Larson (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 29.350 167.550
8. 45 Bubba Wallace (P) ROOT Insurance Toyota 29.435 167.066
9. 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Moen Ford 29.447 166.998
10. 34 Michael McDowell Fr8Auctions.com Ford 29.467 166.885
11. 11 Denny Hamlin (P) Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 29.189 168.474
12. 1 Ross Chastain (P) Worldwide Express Chevrolet 29.227 168.255
13. 3 Austin Dillon (P) BetMGM Chevrolet 29.371 167.430
14. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 29.391 167.317
15. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 29.412 167.197
16. 48 Alex Bowman (P) Ally Chevrolet 29.452 166.970
17. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 29.457 166.942
18. 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Busch Light Retro Ford 29.476 166.834
19. 14 Chase Briscoe (P) HighPoint.com Lady in Black Ford 29.511 166.636
20. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Irish Spring Chevrolet 29.522 166.574
21. 23 Ty Gibbs(i) Monster Energy Toyota 29.582 166.236
22. 10 Aric Almirola Renegade Insurance Ford 29.603 166.118
23. 9 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA/Children’s Chevrolet 29.646 165.877
24. 16 Daniel Hemric(i) AG1 by Athletic Greens Chevrolet 29.647 165.872
25. 6 Brad Keselowski Kohler Generators Ford 29.660 165.799
26. 77 Landon Cassill(i) Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet 29.676 165.710
27. 17 Chris Buescher Fifth Third Bank Ford 29.686 165.654
28. 21 Harrison Burton # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 29.686 165.654
29. 42 Ty Dillon EG3 Technologies Chevrolet 29.753 165.281
30. 41 Cole Custer Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford 29.801 165.015
31. 38 Todd Gilliland # Southeastern Equipment Ford 29.834 164.832
32. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 29.859 164.694
33. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Jacob Companies/Parts Plus Ford 29.863 164.672
34. 7 Corey LaJoie Built.com Chevrolet 29.893 164.507
35. 78 B.J. McLeod(i) Blaster Ford 30.104 163.354
36. 99 Daniel Suarez (P) Jockey Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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