If weather rains out Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway, then fall 2015 winner Joey Logano will sit on the pole.
Logano’s 48.785-second circuit around the Alabama track was enough to lead final practice for the Cup Series. Rookie Ryan Blaney (48.798) and Chase Elliott (48.811) followed in second and third, with Danica Patrick (49.084) and Brian Scott (49.187) rounding out the top five.
Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch finished out the top 10.
The practice session was the final opportunity for teams to dial in their cars for practice and Sunday’s Geico 500. Some drivers, including Logano and Earnhardt, took advantage of the session by running in packs. Others elected to focus on single-car speeds for Saturday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying.
The top 10 from final practice could be the same 10 drivers to lead the field to green on Sunday. Potential weather on Saturday threatens to cancel tomorrow’s qualifying session. If that were to occur, the field would be set on their final practice speeds.
However, the odds of such an event occurring have minimized. What was once a 70% chance of rain on Saturday has diminished to only 15% over the evening hours.
The Cup Series will return on Saturday for Coors Light Pole Qualifying. 12:30 p.m. ET.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.