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Once again the Gen-6 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars proved that they were faster than the previous iteration as Joey Logano laid down a record lap of 203.949mph in a Penske Racing Ford Fusion.
Despite the record speed - the ninth fastest pole winning speed in Sprint Cup history - it wasn't pleasant for Logano as he had to wait for 28 rivals to go out on the two-mile oval in qualifying at Michigan International Speedway.
“I don't know if that speed will hold up,” Logano said as he anxiously awaited as his rival went out one-at-a-time. “I think it should hang in the top-five, I hope.”
It was Logano's sixth career pole, first at Penske Racing. And, that fostered hope of making the Chase if he can win from the pole. “We are 27 points out I believe and that doesn't sound like a lot but the amount of cars that are in between us is a lot,” Logano said.
“You have to pass a lot of cars and that is the difficult part. Like you said, one win is not going to be enough right now. You have to have a win and points or two wins.”
Kurt Busch's year of redemption and near miss of Victory Lane continued as he was second fast at 203.695 mph. And just as Victory Lane has eluded him so did the pole.
“I thought we had enough to get the pole but Logano hit it perfect,” Kurt Busch explained. “We're really happy with the outside of the front row. It was an extremely fast pace. The track was really quick.”
Jimmie Johnson, the third fastest qualifier at 203.470, also exceeded the previous record of 203.241 mph established by Marcos Ambrose for the Quicken Loans 400 in 2012.
Twenty-five drivers exceeded 200 mph as the fastest track in NASCAR keeps getting faster. A total of 13 drivers went over 200 mph during qualifying last June.
Austin Dillon, subbing for the injured Tony Stewart this weekend at MIS, will be making his third appearance with a different Sprint Cup team this season. Not a problem for the youngster who has also competed with Circle Sport Racing and Phoenix racing.
“I think it's cool to be able to say that I've driven for multiple different people,” he explained Friday after qualifying 27th. “The great thing about it is that you learn a lot of running with different guys and learn how things are supposed to be done and what it really takes to be a team leader.”
Rounding out the top-ten are Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.
Despite the record speed - the ninth fastest pole winning speed in Sprint Cup history - it wasn't pleasant for Logano as he had to wait for 28 rivals to go out on the two-mile oval in qualifying at Michigan International Speedway.
 |
| Joey Logano (Photo: JoeyLogano.com) |
“I don't know if that speed will hold up,” Logano said as he anxiously awaited as his rival went out one-at-a-time. “I think it should hang in the top-five, I hope.”
It was Logano's sixth career pole, first at Penske Racing. And, that fostered hope of making the Chase if he can win from the pole. “We are 27 points out I believe and that doesn't sound like a lot but the amount of cars that are in between us is a lot,” Logano said.
“You have to pass a lot of cars and that is the difficult part. Like you said, one win is not going to be enough right now. You have to have a win and points or two wins.”
 |
| Joey Logano, Ford Fusion (Photo: JoeyLogano.com) |
Kurt Busch's year of redemption and near miss of Victory Lane continued as he was second fast at 203.695 mph. And just as Victory Lane has eluded him so did the pole.
“I thought we had enough to get the pole but Logano hit it perfect,” Kurt Busch explained. “We're really happy with the outside of the front row. It was an extremely fast pace. The track was really quick.”
Jimmie Johnson, the third fastest qualifier at 203.470, also exceeded the previous record of 203.241 mph established by Marcos Ambrose for the Quicken Loans 400 in 2012.
Twenty-five drivers exceeded 200 mph as the fastest track in NASCAR keeps getting faster. A total of 13 drivers went over 200 mph during qualifying last June.
Austin Dillon, subbing for the injured Tony Stewart this weekend at MIS, will be making his third appearance with a different Sprint Cup team this season. Not a problem for the youngster who has also competed with Circle Sport Racing and Phoenix racing.
“I think it's cool to be able to say that I've driven for multiple different people,” he explained Friday after qualifying 27th. “The great thing about it is that you learn a lot of running with different guys and learn how things are supposed to be done and what it really takes to be a team leader.”
Rounding out the top-ten are Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.