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Motorsport
Motorsport
Sport
Jim Utter

Joey Logano rockets to pole for Las Vegas Cup race

Logano saved his best for last as he posted the fastest average lap speed of the day (186.053 mph) for the final round of qualifying. All three Penske drivers qualified in the top nine.

The pole is the first of the 2023 season for Logano and his No. 22 Ford team and the 27th of his career.

“This is a good car,” Logano said. “In practice I noticed it was pretty good and in qualifying I told Paul (Wolfe, crew chief), ‘We have a heck of piece here.’ It’s just a really fast car.

“Hopefully, the speed translates over to the race. But the No. 1 pit stall is always nice. As you get toward the end of these races, you want to get up there. We’ll see if we can transfer it to another win.”

Logano has three wins at Las Vegas, including the most recent race last fall, which helped propel him in the playoffs toward his second series championship.

“The gusts are what make it very hard. If it’s a steady, sustained wind at least you know it’s coming,” he said. “It’s the gusts out of nowhere that blows you up the race track or slides you around quite a bit.

“It’s something we’re going to have to deal with but it’s fairly typical for Vegas. It’s always sketchy. I’m sure tomorrow will be the same way.”

William Byron ended up second (185.153 mph) and Ryan Blaney was third (184.900 mph). Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 starters are Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell, who had the fastest speed in Round 1.

Heavy winds Saturday around the track wreaked havoc during the final round of qualifying. There is also a wind warning in effect for Sunday’s race as well.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 22 United States Joey Logano Ford 1 29.024     186.053
2 24 United States William Byron Chevrolet 1 29.165 0.141 0.141 185.153
3 12 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 1 29.205 0.181 0.040 184.900
4 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 1 29.262 0.238 0.057 184.540
5 8 United States Kyle Busch Chevrolet 1 29.270 0.246 0.008 184.489
6 5 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1 29.308 0.284 0.038 184.250
7 6 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 1 29.333 0.309 0.025 184.093
8 1 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 1 29.387 0.363 0.054 183.755
9 2 United States Austin Cindric Ford 1 29.401 0.377 0.014 183.667
10 20 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 1 29.424 0.400 0.023 183.524

Group B

Bell posted the fastest lap of the day at the time to lead Group B qualifying in Round 1 (185.065 mph).

Cindric ended up second (184.647 mph) and Keselowski third (184.527 mph). Also advancing to the final round were Gibbs and Chastain.

Among those who failed to advance were last year’s race winner, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 20 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 1 29.179     185.065
2 2 United States Austin Cindric Ford 1 29.245 0.066 0.066 184.647
3 6 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 1 29.264 0.085 0.019 184.527
4 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 1 29.295 0.116 0.031 184.332
5 1 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 1 29.297 0.118 0.002 184.319
6 48 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 1 29.346 0.167 0.049 184.011
7 11 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 1 29.367 0.188 0.021 183.880
8 23 United States Bubba Wallace Toyota 1 29.392 0.213 0.025 183.723
9 4 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 1 29.411 0.232 0.019 183.605
10 19 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 1 29.467 0.288 0.056 183.256
11 7 United States Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 1 29.605 0.426 0.138 182.402
12 14 United States Chase Briscoe Ford 1 29.610 0.431 0.005 182.371
13 10 United States Aric Almirola Ford 1 29.611 0.432 0.001 182.365
14 43 United States Erik Jones Chevrolet 1 29.629 0.450 0.018 182.254
15 38 United States Todd Gilliland Ford 1 29.892 0.713 0.263 180.650
16 51 United States Cody Ware Ford 1 29.994 0.815 0.102 180.036
17 77 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 1 30.686 1.507 0.692 175.976
18 21 United States Harrison Burton Ford    

Group A

Logano set a blistering pace in the first group with an average lap speed of 184.716 mph – the fastest lap of the weekend at the time.

Byron ended up second (184.131 mph) and Busch was third (183.949 mph).

Also moving on to the final round were Larson and Blaney.

Among those who failed to advance were Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher.

B.J McLeod, Tyler Reddick and Harrison Burton did not participate in qualifying.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 22 United States Joey Logano Ford 1 29.234     184.716
2 24 United States William Byron Chevrolet 1 29.327 0.093 0.093 184.131
3 8 United States Kyle Busch Chevrolet 1 29.356 0.122 0.029 183.949
4 5 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1 29.520 0.286 0.164 182.927
5 12 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 1 29.522 0.288 0.002 182.914
6 47 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 1 29.562 0.328 0.040 182.667
7 34 United States Michael McDowell Ford 1 29.582 0.348 0.020 182.543
8 17 United States Chris Buescher Ford 1 29.593 0.359 0.011 182.476
9 16 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 1 29.635 0.401 0.042 182.217
10 99 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 1 29.650 0.416 0.015 182.125
11 42 United States Noah Gragson Chevrolet 1 29.789 0.555 0.139 181.275
12 3 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 1 29.810 0.576 0.021 181.147
13 31 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 1 29.823 0.589 0.013 181.068
14 15 United States J.J. Yeley Ford 1 29.986 0.752 0.163 180.084
15 41 United States Ryan Preece Ford 1 30.034 0.800 0.048 179.796
16 9 Josh Berry Chevrolet 1 30.153 0.919 0.119 179.087
17 45 United States Tyler Reddick Toyota          
18 78 United States B.J. McLeod Chevrolet        
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