Joey Logano Wins Pole for Las Vegas
Published at(LAS VEGAS) — Joey Logano picked up his eighth career pole after he set the Las Vegas Motor Speedway track record during NASCAR’s first three-round knockout qualifying session on Friday.
Logano set the track-record with a speed of 193.28 mph and will sit up front with Penske Ford teammate Brad Keselowski, who finished with the second fastest qualifying time.
“It gets crazy out there,” Logano said. “I think it’s way cooler than old-style qualifying, don’t get me wrong. It’s awesome. … We’re all learning right now. It’s all new to us, but we’re having fun with it. I enjoy it. I think it’s cool.”
Keselowski spoke about how he’ll prepare for racing at the tough Las Vegas track.
“It’s just simple physics,” Keselowski said. “The cars make 300-400 pounds more downforce. The engine manufacturers continue to find more horsepower, so they’re going to go faster. I don’t think it has anything to do with this (qualifying) format. In fact, I think if it wasn’t for this format, they would be even faster.”
Clint Bowyer finished in third, followed by Austin Dillon, and Jimmie Johnson.
“Our normal deal is to be scared once a weekend,” Bowyer said of the new qualifying procedure. “Three times is a lot to ask out of us. You know, it is really exciting.”
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