Logano Drives to First Pole of 2022 at Darlington

Logano's throwback paint scheme is his quarter midget racer's

(DARLINGTON, SC – MAY 7, 2022 – RIS) Joey Logano won the pole position for the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, beating out Kyle Larson with a fast lap of 28.805 seconds at 170.720 mph, against the Hendrick Chevy driver's 28.887/170.236 lap. Logano's pole is his first at the old egg-shaped South Carolina oval and the 23rd pole in his NASCAR Cup Series career of 483 races.

"At this point in the season everything is a surprise, you've just got to adapt quickly and today the guys did a great job giving me something I could wheel and it felt good and able to lay down a really good one and two there," Logano stated. "My three and four was decent. I thought I probably left a little there, but, overall, it's so cool to have this car up front. This is my first quarter midget [throwback paint scheme.] This is where it all started for me, so to go to where it all started and start on the front row here at Darlington is really, really special. All the way from Silver City in Meridan, Connecticut. This is a pretty neat thing for me."

In talking about the prospects for Sunday's race, Logano added: "I hope there are a lot of pit stops here. It helps with the pit stall selection, obviously. There's nice little advantage up there at stall one, but it's a long race. This is definitely a long one. You have to have some long run speed in your car as well, so hopefully we'll have that."

Kevin Harvick set the trend for the day's Cup practice with a flat left-rear tire leading to a spin in the first practice group. "It's really just kind of a guess," Harvick said. "How long the tire was going flat. Trying to decide did the tire come apart or was it going low. You're kind of guessing as to what was what to analyze your handling characteristics of the car…. it's definitely a lot of guessing at this point. Fixing the diffuser, not having a backup car, no spare parts or anything like that. You have to round all that stuff up from somebody else and put that stuff on your car and repair those couple of pieces that were damaged. They got all that done. The big key is just trying to figure out how to analyze your car and not knowing what the circumstances were with the tire."

In the second session, Chase Elliott's left-rear tire went flat leading to a spin on his fifteenth lap of the session. Unlike Harvick, Elliott's Chevy hit the wall, sending the Hendrick team to the sole backup car they brought to the track for all four drivers.

Left rear going down about three-quarters of the way down the back straight – couldn't get it slowed down in time" said Elliott later.

As the second group's session ended, Brad Keselowski spun in the fourth turn , making a practice entry into the pits. His No. 6 Ford just spun to a stop before he drove onto pit road for qualifying.

In the second qualifying group, Denny Hamlin reported on radio that he felt a grinding noise and it appeared that the engine was starting to seize up.

In the second qualifying session, William Byron tapped the wall, potentially doing enough damage that the car will have to start from the back of the field due to repairs.

Third place qualifier Christopher Bell posted his first top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his eighth in 12 races this season.

Austin Cindric was the fastest qualifying rookie, earning the 19th spot, just over a half second behind the pole time.

Time Trial Results: 3rd Annual Goodyear 400, Darlington Raceway
Qualifying Round: 1A
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 28.994, 169.608, 0, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) Christopher Bell, No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota, 29.089, 169.054, 0, 1, 0.095, 0.095
3) William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 29.121, 168.868, 0, 1, 0.127, 0.032
4) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.209, 168.359, 0, 1, 0.215, 0.088
5) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 29.218, 168.307, 0, 1, 0.224, 0.009
6) Michael McDowell, No. 34 Navage Nasal Care Ford, 29.343, 167.590, 0, 1, 0.349, 0.125
7) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota, 29.349, 167.556, 0, 1, 0.355, 0.006
8) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.384, 167.356, 0, 1, 0.390, 0.035
9) Ty Dillon, No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet, 29.411, 167.203, 0, 1, 0.417, 0.027
10) Harrison Burton #, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 29.481, 166.806, 0, 1, 0.487, 0.070
11) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Nature Valley Chevrolet, 29.555, 166.388, 0, 1, 0.561, 0.074
12) Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 29.661, 165.793, 0, 1, 0.667, 0.106
13) Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 29.662, 165.788, 0, 1, 0.668, 0.001
14) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Stacking Pennies Chevrolet, 29.838, 164.810, 0, 1, 0.844, 0.176
15) JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Ford, 30.191, 162.883, 0, 1, 1.197, 0.353
16) Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 30.367, 161.939, 0, 1, 1.373, 0.176
17) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Rheem Chasing a Cure Ford, 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----
18) BJ McLeod, No. 78 Ford, 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----

Qualifying Round: 1B
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, 28.736, 171.130, 0, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 28.838, 170.525, 0, 1, 0.102, 0.102
3) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.991, 169.625, 0, 1, 0.255, 0.153
4) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 29.057, 169.240, 0, 1, 0.321, 0.066
5) Kurt Busch, No. 45 McDonald's Throwback Toyota, 29.108, 168.943, 0, 1, 0.372, 0.051
6) Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 29.125, 168.845, 0, 1, 0.389, 0.017
7) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation/Smithfield Ford, 29.146, 168.723, 0, 1, 0.410, 0.021
8) Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 29.153, 168.682, 0, 1, 0.417, 0.007
9) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 29.198, 168.422, 0, 1, 0.462, 0.045
10) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Throwback Chevrolet, 29.221, 168.290, 0, 1, 0.485, 0.023
11) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Socios.com Ford, 29.359, 167.499, 0, 1, 0.623, 0.138
12) Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Menards/Libman Ford, 29.381, 167.373, 0, 1, 0.645, 0.022
13) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 29.431, 167.089, 0, 1, 0.695, 0.050
14) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Socios.com Ford, 29.437, 167.055, 0, 1, 0.701, 0.006
15) Daniel Hemric(i), No. 16 AGI by Athletic Greens Chevrolet, 29.475, 166.840, 0, 1, 0.739, 0.038
16) Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Black's Tire Ford, 29.599, 166.141, 0, 1, 0.863, 0.124
17) Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 30.054, 163.625, 0, 1, 1.318, 0.455
18) Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet, 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----

Qualifying Round: 2
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.805, 170.720, 1, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, 28.887, 170.236, 1, 1, 0.082, 0.082
3) Christopher Bell, No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota, 28.958, 169.818, 1, 1, 0.153, 0.071
4) Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 29.048, 169.292, 1, 1, 0.243, 0.090
5) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 29.061, 169.216, 1, 1, 0.256, 0.013
6) Kurt Busch, No. 45 McDonald's Throwback Toyota, 29.077, 169.123, 1, 1, 0.272, 0.016
7) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 29.106, 168.955, 1, 1, 0.301, 0.029
8) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.126, 168.839, 1, 1, 0.321, 0.020
9) William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 29.161, 168.636, 1, 1, 0.356, 0.035
10) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 29.193, 168.451, 1, 1, 0.388, 0.032

Starting Line Up: 3rd Annual Goodyear 400, Darlington Raceway
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) 
Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.805, 170.720
2) 
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, 28.887, 170.236
3) 
Christopher Bell, No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota, 28.958, 169.818
4) 
Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 29.048, 169.292
5) 
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 29.061, 169.216
6) 
Kurt Busch, No. 45 McDonald's Throwback Toyota, 29.077, 169.123
7) 
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 29.106, 168.955
8) 
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.126, 168.839
9) 
William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 29.161, 168.636
10) 
Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 29.193, 168.451
11) 
Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 29.125, 168.845
12) 
Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation/Smithfield Ford, 29.146, 168.723
13) 
Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 29.153, 168.682
14) 
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 29.198, 168.422
15) 
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Throwback Chevrolet, 29.221, 168.290
16) 
Michael McDowell, No. 34 Navage Nasal Care Ford, 29.343, 167.590
17) 
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota, 29.349, 167.556
18) 
Chris Buescher, No. 17 Socios.com Ford, 29.359, 167.499
19) 
Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Menards/Libman Ford, 29.381, 167.373
20) 
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.384, 167.356
21) 
Ty Dillon, No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet, 29.411, 167.203
22) 
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 29.431, 167.089
23) 
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Socios.com Ford, 29.437, 167.055
24) 
Daniel Hemric(i), No. 16 AGI by Athletic Greens Chevrolet, 29.475, 166.840
25) 
Harrison Burton #, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 29.481, 166.806
26) 
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Nature Valley Chevrolet, 29.555, 166.388
27) 
Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Black's Tire Ford, 29.599, 166.141
28) 
Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 29.661, 165.793
29) 
Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 29.662, 165.788
30) 
Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Stacking Pennies Chevrolet, 29.838, 164.810
31) 
Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 30.054, 163.625
32) 
JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Ford, 30.191, 162.883
33) 
Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 30.367, 161.939
34) 
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet, 0.000, 0.000
35) 
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Rheem Chasing a Cure Ford, 0.000, 0.000
36) 
BJ McLeod, No. 78 Ford, 0.000, 0.000
(i)
 Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Track Qualifying Record: Kevin Harvick , 04/12/14, 26.802 sec, 183.479 mph

Practice: 3rd Annual Goodyear 400, Darlington Raceway
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, On Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Menards/Libman Ford, 29.399, 167.271, 2, 22, ---.---, ---.---
2) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 29.532, 166.518, 2, 32, -0.133, -0.133
3) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 29.544, 166.450, 2, 26, -0.145, -0.012
4) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.685, 165.659, 2, 18, -0.286, -0.141
5) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 29.694, 165.609, 3, 20, -0.295, -0.009
6) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 29.732, 165.398, 3, 21, -0.333, -0.038
7) Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet, 29.742, 165.342, 2, 14, -0.343, -0.010
8) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 29.756, 165.264, 2, 26, -0.357, -0.014
9) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, 29.775, 165.159, 6, 22, -0.376, -0.019
10) Ty Dillon, No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet, 29.805, 164.992, 1, 24, -0.406, -0.030
11) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Nature Valley Chevrolet, 29.814, 164.943, 2, 27, -0.415, -0.009
12) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 29.838, 164.810, 2, 28, -0.439, -0.024
13) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 29.842, 164.788, 2, 26, -0.443, -0.004
14) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota, 29.854, 164.722, 3, 18, -0.455, -0.012
15) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Rheem Chasing a Cure Ford, 29.861, 164.683, 2, 12, -0.462, -0.007
16) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Throwback Chevrolet, 29.867, 164.650, 3, 27, -0.468, -0.006
17) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Socios.com Ford, 29.885, 164.551, 3, 24, -0.486, -0.018
18) Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 29.902, 164.457, 2, 15, -0.503, -0.017
19) Michael McDowell, No. 34 Navage Nasal Care Ford, 29.920, 164.358, 2, 21, -0.521, -0.018
20) Kurt Busch, No. 45 McDonald's Throwback Toyota, 29.925, 164.331, 2, 26, -0.526, -0.005
21) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Socios.com Ford, 29.927, 164.320, 2, 28, -0.528, -0.002
22) Christopher Bell, No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota, 29.988, 163.986, 2, 28, -0.589, -0.061
23) William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 29.995, 163.947, 2, 25, -0.596, -0.007
24) Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 30.011, 163.860, 1, 24, -0.612, -0.016
25) Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 30.019, 163.816, 2, 24, -0.620, -0.008
26) Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 30.025, 163.784, 2, 12, -0.626, -0.006
27) Daniel Hemric(i), No. 16 AGI by Athletic Greens Chevrolet, 30.052, 163.636, 6, 14, -0.653, -0.027
28) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Stacking Pennies Chevrolet, 30.055, 163.620, 2, 29, -0.656, -0.003
29) Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 30.070, 163.538, 2, 16, -0.671, -0.015
30) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation/Smithfield Ford, 30.087, 163.446, 2, 27, -0.688, -0.017
31) Harrison Burton #, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 30.091, 163.424, 3, 28, -0.692, -0.004
32) Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 30.099, 163.381, 2, 28, -0.700, -0.008
33) JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Ford, 30.400, 161.763, 5, 14, -1.001, -0.301
34) Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Black's Tire Ford, 30.436, 161.572, 6, 23, -1.037, -0.036
35) Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 30.998, 158.642, 3, 19, -1.599, -0.562
36) BJ McLeod, No. 78 Ford, 34.065, 144.359, 1, 1, -4.666, -3.067
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
Pos, Driver, Car, From Lap, To Lap, Avg Speed
1) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 1, 10, 163.718
2) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 1, 10, 163.460
3) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 1, 10, 163.197
4) Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet, 1, 10, 162.918
5) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, 6, 15, 162.626
6) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Nature Valley Chevrolet, 1, 10, 162.612
7) Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 2, 11, 162.589
8) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, 1, 10, 162.584
9) Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Menards/Libman Ford, 9, 18, 162.323
10) Kurt Busch, No. 45 McDonald's Throwback Toyota, 1, 10, 162.301
11) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 1, 10, 162.124
12) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 8, 17, 162.124
13) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Rheem Chasing a Cure Ford, 1, 10, 162.090
14) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Throwback Chevrolet, 1, 10, 162.066
15) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota, 1, 10, 162.041
16) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation/Smithfield Ford, 1, 10, 162.019
17) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Socios.com Ford, 1, 10, 161.934
18) William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 1, 10, 161.920
19) Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 1, 10, 161.689
20) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 11, 20, 161.638
21) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Stacking Pennies Chevrolet, 1, 10, 161.490
22) Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 1, 10, 161.385
23) Ty Dillon, No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet, 1, 10, 161.280
24) Harrison Burton #, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 1, 10, 161.275
25) Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 1, 10, 161.227
26) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Socios.com Ford, 7, 16, 161.149
27) Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Black's Tire Ford, 6, 15, 160.543
28) Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 2, 11, 160.177
29) Christopher Bell, No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota, 11, 20, 158.310
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

John Davison

Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.

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Volume 2022, Issue 5, Posted 2:00 PM, 05.07.2022