Logano and Byron Take Front Row at ROVAL

Joey Logano scored his career first pole

(CONCORD, NC – OCT 8, 2022 – RIS) Joey Logano and William Byron will head the field in the fifth NASCAR Cup Series race on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL combination oval and road course layout.

Logano’s pole is his first ever at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "My lap was pretty good," he said. "I messed up the first lap there at the final chicane on the frontstretch. That's the first corner we get to before the start-finish line, so I had a lap to make up for the mistake and on the second lap, I only messed it up half as bad, so we made some gains there.

"I'm pretty proud of our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang team. It seems like all of our Team Penske cars are running well. It's a nice starting spot, but that's all it is. It sets you up well for the race. Hopefully, we can advance in the Playoffs."

Logano also discussed a meeting between the drivers and NASCAR: “I feel much better, he commented. “I feel like the meeting was very open and honest, which I feel like was necessary for all the drivers to get some things off their chest and their real concerns of what we’ve been going through and the experiences from inside the car. The frustrating part is it took way too long to have that meeting. That meeting should have happened Monday after Kurt’s crash, not waiting until Alex had his crash and at least hear us out. I’m not saying they weren’t working on it after Kurt’s crash, but the communication in person is so important. You guys know. You’re sitting here. We used to do Zoom media and can you tell me that when you did all those Zoom calls that it was a good as being in person? No, you can’t say those interviews are worth a crap compared to being in person. And it’s the same thing when you’re talking about your life in a race car. It’s a little bit more important than that and we should be in person having those meetings a lot, not when we need to but before we need to, and I think those messages were heard loud and clear. There is a plan to try to help the rear impacts, as you guys know, but we need to stay focused on the rest of the car as well. There are a lot of other spots on the car we want to make better as well.

“Yeah, is the possibility there for injury? It always is. It’s a race car. There’s some kind of chance I’m gonna take driving home from here, so you try to assess the risk before you take it and try to do the right things that you can control before you jump in the race car. That’s your head surround, your helmet, your HANS. The things I can control I need to be ready for and do, and then at that point we need to keep communicating to NASCAR and their engineers in designing a car that accepts impact better.”

William Byron will start second to Logano, just 0.097 second back, with Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick on the second row of the grid. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race winner, AJ Allmendinger, will start Sunday’s race from the inside of the fourth row.

Practice times: 63rd Annual Bank of America ROVAL 400 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 1:21.732, 102.188 mph, 3, 4, ---.---, ---.---
2) Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford, 1:21.798, 102.105, 2, 10, -0.066, -0.066
3) William Byron (P), No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 1:21.809, 102.091, 2, 10, -0.077, -0.011
4) Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 1:22.042, 101.802, 2, 10, -0.310, -0.233
5) Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 1:22.218, 101.584, 4, 12, -0.486, -0.176
6) Cole Custer, No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford, 1:22.359, 101.410, 5, 12, -0.627, -0.141
7) Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:22.394, 101.367, 6, 7, -0.662, -0.035
8) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet, 1:22.458, 101.288, 3, 13, -0.726, -0.064
9) Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 1:22.505, 101.230, 4, 9, -0.773, -0.047
10) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, 1:22.524, 101.207, 8, 11, -0.792, -0.019
11) Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 1:22.616, 101.094, 7, 10, -0.884, -0.092
12) Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 1:22.623, 101.086, 3, 8, -0.891, -0.007
13) Bubba Wallace (P), No. 45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, 1:22.699, 100.993, 10, 12, -0.967, -0.076
14) Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 1:22.738, 100.945, 2, 14, -1.006, -0.039
15) Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota, 1:22.806, 100.862, 2, 10, -1.074, -0.068
16) Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1:22.940, 100.699, 3, 11, -1.208, -0.134
17) Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 1:23.009, 100.616, 5, 7, -1.277, -0.069
18) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 1:23.095, 100.511, 4, 11, -1.363, -0.086
19) Martin Truex Jr, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 1:23.145, 100.451, 1, 10, -1.413, -0.050
20) Ty Dillon, No. 42 QuickChek Chevrolet, 1:23.163, 100.429, 2, 11, -1.431, -0.018
21) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 1:23.173, 100.417, 2, 9, -1.441, -0.010
22) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Raze Energy Chevrolet, 1:23.189, 100.398, 8, 11, -1.457, -0.016
23) Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 1:23.200, 100.385, 3, 10, -1.468, -0.011
24) Noah Gragson(i) (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 1:23.326, 100.233, 2, 12, -1.594, -0.126
25) Joey Hand, No. 15 Ford BlueOval City Ford, 1:23.458, 100.074, 8, 10, -1.726, -0.132
26) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Ford, 1:23.557, 99.956, 3, 6, -1.825, -0.099
27) Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Dex Imaging Ford, 1:23.615, 99.886, 4, 13, -1.883, -0.058
28) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, 1:23.646, 99.849, 14, 14, -1.914, -0.031
29) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 1:23.681, 99.808, 5, 9, -1.949, -0.035
30) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 1:23.807, 99.658, 3, 11, -2.075, -0.126
31) Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 First Phase Ford, 1:23.875, 99.577, 4, 11, -2.143, -0.068
32) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation Ford, 1:23.994, 99.436, 12, 14, -2.262, -0.119
33) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 47 Harris Teeter/Scott Chevrolet, 1:24.151, 99.250, 9, 10, -2.419, -0.157
34) Loris Hezemans(i), No. 27 Hezeberg Systems Ford, 1:24.172, 99.225, 2, 9, -2.440, -0.021
35) Mike Rockenfeller, No. 77 Bon Secours/Swamp Rabbits Chevrolet, 1:24.233, 99.154, 8, 11, -2.501, -0.061
36) Daniil Kvyat(i), No. 26 Hezeberg Systems Toyota, 1:24.397, 98.961, 5, 11, -2.665, -0.164
37) Josh Williams(i), No. 78 Alloy Employer Services Ford, 1:24.835, 98.450, 4, 9, -3.103, -0.438
38) Conor Daly, No. 50 Bitnile.com Chevrolet, 1:25.874, 97.259, 6, 7, -4.142, -1.039
39) JJ Yeley(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford, 1:26.023, 97.090, 6, 8, -4.291, -0.149

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
Pos, Driver, Car, From Lap, To Lap, Avg Speed
1) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Raze Energy Chevrolet, 1, 10, 99.465 mph
2) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet, 3, 12, 99.006
Car must run 10 consecutive laps on the track to be included

Time Trial Results: 63rd Annual Bank of America ROVAL 400 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Round 1A
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet, 1:21.069, 103.023 mph, 0, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) William Byron (P), No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 1:21.180, 102.882, 0, 1, 0.111, 0.111
3) Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 1:21.243, 102.803, 0, 1, 0.174, 0.063
4) Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford, 1:21.317, 102.709, 0, 2, 0.248, 0.074
5) Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 1:21.488, 102.494, 0, 4, 0.419, 0.171
6) Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 1:21.605, 102.347, 0, 3, 0.536, 0.117
7) Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota, 1:21.770, 102.140, 0, 3, 0.701, 0.165
8) Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 1:21.813, 102.086, 0, 4, 0.744, 0.043
9) Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:21.878, 102.005, 0, 4, 0.809, 0.065
10) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 1:22.019, 101.830, 0, 3, 0.950, 0.141
11) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 1:22.234, 101.564, 0, 3, 1.165, 0.215
12) Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 1:22.538, 101.190, 0, 3, 1.469, 0.304
13) Joey Hand, No. 15 Ford BlueOval City Ford, 1:22.538, 101.190, 0, 5, 1.469, 0.000
14) Ty Dillon, No. 42 QuickChek Chevrolet, 1:22.558, 101.165, 0, 5, 1.489, 0.020
15) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Raze Energy Chevrolet, 1:22.741, 100.941, 0, 3, 1.672, 0.183
16) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Ford, 1:22.832, 100.831, 0, 1, 1.763, 0.091
17) Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 First Phase Ford, 1:22.908, 100.738, 0, 3, 1.839, 0.076
18) Loris Hezemans(i), No. 27 Hezeberg Systems Ford, 1:24.060, 99.358, 0, 5, 2.991, 1.152
19) Josh Williams(i), No. 78 Alloy Employer Services Ford, 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----

Round 1B
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 1:20.829, 103.329 mph, 0, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 1:21.006, 103.103, 0, 1, 0.177, 0.177
3) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, 1:21.046, 103.053, 0, 1, 0.217, 0.040
4) Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 1:21.450, 102.541, 0, 1, 0.621, 0.404
5) Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1:21.633, 102.312, 0, 3, 0.804, 0.183
6) Cole Custer, No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford, 1:21.712, 102.213, 0, 3, 0.883, 0.079
7) Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 1:21.718, 102.205, 0, 3, 0.889, 0.006
8) Bubba Wallace (P), No. 45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, 1:21.726, 102.195, 0, 4, 0.897, 0.008
9) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, 1:21.757, 102.156, 0, 3, 0.928, 0.031
10) Martin Truex Jr, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 1:22.000, 101.854, 0, 3, 1.171, 0.243
11) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 1:22.460, 101.285, 0, 3, 1.631, 0.460
12) Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Dex Imaging Ford, 1:22.491, 101.247, 0, 6, 1.662, 0.031
13) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 1:22.496, 101.241, 0, 4, 1.667, 0.005
14) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 47 Harris Teeter/Scott Chevrolet, 1:22.502, 101.234, 0, 3, 1.673, 0.006
15) Noah Gragson(i) (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 1:22.583, 101.135, 0, 4, 1.754, 0.081
16) Daniil Kvyat(i), No. 26 Hezeberg Systems Toyota, 1:22.940, 100.699, 0, 5, 2.111, 0.357
17) Mike Rockenfeller, No. 77 Bon Secours/Swamp Rabbits Chevrolet, 1:23.276, 100.293, 0, 4, 2.447, 0.336
18) JJ Yeley(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford, 1:23.905, 99.541, 0, 2, 3.076, 0.629
19) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation Ford, 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----
20) Conor Daly, No. 50 Bitnile.com Chevrolet, 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----

Round 2
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 1:20.755, 103.424 mph, 1, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) William Byron (P), No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 1:20.852, 103.300, 1, 1, 0.097, 0.097
3) Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 1:21.006, 103.103, 1, 4, 0.251, 0.154
4) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet, 1:21.018, 103.088, 3, 3, 0.263, 0.012
5) Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford, 1:21.290, 102.743, 1, 3, 0.535, 0.272
6) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, 1:21.336, 102.685, 1, 1, 0.581, 0.046
7) AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 1:21.646, 102.295, 2, 2, 0.891, 0.310
8) Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 1:21.811, 102.089, 1, 1, 1.056, 0.165
9) Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1:22.087, 101.746, 1, 1, 1.332, 0.276
10) Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 1:46.131, 78.695, 1, 1, 25.376, 24.044

Starting Line Up: 63rd Annual Bank of America ROVAL 400 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 1:20.755, 103.424 mph
2) William Byron (P), No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 1:20.852, 103.300
3) Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 1:21.006, 103.103
4) Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet, 1:21.018, 103.088
5) Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford, 1:21.290, 102.743
6) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, 1:21.336, 102.685
7) AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 1:21.646, 102.295
8) Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 1:21.811, 102.089
9) Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1:22.087, 101.746
10) Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 106.131, 78.695
11) Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 1:21.605, 102.347
12) Cole Custer, No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford, 1:21.712, 102.213
13) Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 1:21.718, 102.205
14) Bubba Wallace (P), No. 45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, 1:21.726, 102.195
15) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, 1:21.757, 102.156
16) Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota, 1:21.770, 102.140
17) Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 1:21.813, 102.086
18) Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:21.878, 102.005
19) Martin Truex Jr, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 1:22.000, 101.854
20) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 1:22.019, 101.830
21) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 1:22.234, 101.564
22) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 1:22.460, 101.285
23) Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Dex Imaging Ford, 1:22.491, 101.247
24) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 1:22.496, 101.241
25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 47 Harris Teeter/Scott Chevrolet, 1:22.502, 101.234
26) Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 1:22.538, 101.190
27) Joey Hand, No. 15 Ford BlueOval City Ford, 1:22.538, 101.190
28) Ty Dillon, No. 42 QuickChek Chevrolet, 1:22.558, 101.165
29) Noah Gragson(i) (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 1:22.583, 101.135
30) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Raze Energy Chevrolet, 1:22.741, 100.941
31) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Ford, 1:22.832, 100.831
32) Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 First Phase Ford, 1:22.908, 100.738
33) Daniil Kvyat(i), No. 26 Hezeberg Systems Toyota, 1:22.940, 100.699
34) Mike Rockenfeller, No. 77 Bon Secours/Swamp Rabbits Chevrolet, 1:23.276, 100.293
35) JJ Yeley(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford, 1:23.905, 99.541
36) Loris Hezemans(i), No. 27 Hezeberg Systems Ford, 1:24.060, 99.358
37) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Haas Automation Ford, 0.000, 0.000
38) Josh Williams(i), No. 78 Alloy Employer Services Ford, 0.000, 0.000
39) Conor Daly, No. 50 Bitnile.com Chevrolet, 0.000, 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Track Qualifying Record: Kurt Busch: 09/30/18 1:18.1525 106.868 mph

Track Race Record: Ryan Blaney: 09/30/18 03:01:34, 1:22.125 mph

John Davison

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

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Volume 2022, Issue 10, Posted 10:40 PM, 10.08.2022