NASCAR Cup Series

Joey Logano grabs Richmond pole for his third of the season

Published Apr. 24, 2015 6:29 p.m. ET

Tom Jensen

Defending race-winner Joey Logano still knows the fast way around Richmond International Raceway, where on Friday evening he won the pole for Saturday night's Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Logano's No. 22 Penske Racing Ford lapped the 0.75-mile RIR track at 127.071 miles per hour to qualify No. 1 ahead of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which qualified at 126.796 mph. Kurt Busch was third in a Stewart-Hass Racing Chevrolet, with AJ Allmendinger and defending series champion Kevin Harvick completing the top five.

The pole was the series-high third of the year for Logano and his 11th in 228 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts.

"I thought we had a shot at the pole all along but after the first run it wasn't very good and I started second guessing," said Logano, who opened the season by winning the Daytona 500. "We made some adjustments and didn't make much ground on it the second round. Then we swung for the fence."

And that proved to be the winning strategy, as it removed the tightness from Logano's car and got it to turn through the corners better.

"When you are sitting 11th on the board you only have one spot to lose so we went for it and she turned and off she went," said Logano. "That isn't normal for us. Normally we are really fast in the first run and it is hard for us to stay that fast all the way through. The guys did a great job getting us faster today."

Hamlin, a native of suburban Virginia and a two-time winner at RIR, was pleased with his result. "We lost a little too much grip on the last round and just missed it by a little bit," said Hamlin.

The powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports team struggled in qualifying, with only Jeff Gordon advancing out of the first round. Team drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. (26th), Jimmie Johnson (37th) and Kasey Kahne (40th) all had hugely disappointing efforts. "I'm really puzzled," said Johnson. "We had such a great car in practice."

"It felt really bad," added Kahne.

Danica Patrick advanced to the second round and qualified 21st, five positions behind rookie Chase Elliott, who will start 16th. "I feel like this a strong qualifying effort for us," said Elliott. "I'm excited to be in the show."

Jeb Burton and Brendan Gaughan failed to qualify.

One concern for Saturday's race is the weather. According to Weather.com, consistent rain is predicted from late Saturday afternoon through Sunday night.