Joey Logano is quite familiar with winning from the pole at Michigan International Speedway, something he’s accomplished twice previously — including in June at the 2-mile track.
The Team Penske driver will have a chance to make it a third on Sunday, as he took the No. 1 spot on the starting grid during Friday qualifying for the Pure Michigan 400. A victory and Logano would tie NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson and Bill Elliott as the only drivers to win times from the pole at Michigan.
“Anytime you can put your name with a Hall of Fame member of any sort is really special for me,” Logano said. “That is crazy, a really neat stat.”
Logano shares the front row with Jimmie Johnson, who’s looking to snap a slump that’s hindered him and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates for much of the summer. Starting third is Denny Hamlin, who was fastest in final practice on Saturday but slightly damaged his car after he spun exiting Turn 4. His team was able to make repairs and he will not have to switch to a backup Toyota.
Kevin Harvick, who won a week ago at Bristol Motor Speedway, is fourth, and rookie Chase Elliott, Johnson’s teammate, in fifth.
“I just got loose,” Hamlin told NBC Sports. “It was definitely out of the blue, for sure. The tire and the track combination, you’re so on the edge that when you break traction, you fully pretty much break traction.
“We were going to patch it, just put the splitter on it. But it has a little bit of structure damage to the bumper bars and whatnot … We’ve got a real good baseline. We’ll make sure it’s right when we go to the green flag tomorrow.”
Completing the top 10 qualifiers were Alex Bowman — substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who’s recovering from a concussion — rookie Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman.
The green flag waves on the Pure Michigan 400 at 2:16 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBCSN.
Pure Michigan 400 starting grid
