What can you say, Joey Logano is fast and proud of it.
By just 0.012 seconds over rival Chaser Martin Truex Jr., Logano wins the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the opening race of the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“I thought today in race trim we were OK, I didn’t think we were bad,” Logano said. “Then we switched to qualifying trim and went straight to the top of the boards. We made some good adjustments throughout qualifying to maintain the speed we needed. Tomorrow we will have to go to work and make sure our car is good on the long run.”
With back-to-back poles at this legendary half-mile, Logano appreciates the uniqueness of the “Paper Clip.”
“You talk about racetracks with character,” Logano said. “We all want tracks with bumps and this place has got more character than you could ever want. Its so unique and so different than anywhere else we go which makes it fun. This place could eat me up and spit me out pretty quick early in my career.”
Qualifying second at 98.487 mph (19.227 seconds), Truex will have a clean view out front in search for his second win of 2015.
“I was thinking top 10,” Truex said regarding his final qualifying position. “And every round we just kept making adjustments and making things better. Hats off to the crew. Last time here we were decent but we weren’t good enough to win.”
AJ Allmendinger brought his JTG Daugherty Racing team a stellar result on Friday, lining up third. Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin complete the top-10 starters.
Shortly following the green flag to begin Round 1, Kasey Kahne spun his No. 5 Chevrolet and backed into the turn 1 wall, ending his session in 24th spot, though the team with start in the rear after moving to a back-up machine for Sunday.
Fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggled in Round 2, starting further back in 21st and 22nd, respectively.
Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch are the two deepest Chase driver for Sunday’s 500-lap event, starting 14th and 15th.
2015 GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500 QUALIFYING SPEEDS
About the author
Growing up in Easton, Pa., Zach Catanzareti has grown his auto racing interest from fandom to professional. Joining Frontstretch in 2015, Zach enjoys nothing more than being at the track, having covered his first half-season of 18 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. With experience behind the wheel, behind the camera and in the media center, he thrives on being an all-around reporter.
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