Joey Logano rockets to pole for Las Vegas Cup race

Logano saved his best for last as he posted the fastest average lap speed of the day (186.053 mph) for the final round of qualifying. All three Penske drivers qualified in the top nine.

The pole is the first of the 2023 season for Logano and his No. 22 Ford team and the 27th of his career.

“This is a good car,” Logano said. “In practice I noticed it was pretty good and in qualifying I told Paul (Wolfe, crew chief), ‘We have a heck of piece here.’ It’s just a really fast car.

“Hopefully, the speed translates over to the race. But the No. 1 pit stall is always nice. As you get toward the end of these races, you want to get up there. We’ll see if we can transfer it to another win.”

Logano has three wins at Las Vegas, including the most recent race last fall, which helped propel him in the playoffs toward his second series championship.

“The gusts are what make it very hard. If it’s a steady, sustained wind at least you know it’s coming,” he said. “It’s the gusts out of nowhere that blows you up the race track or slides you around quite a bit.

“It’s something we’re going to have to deal with but it’s fairly typical for Vegas. It’s always sketchy. I’m sure tomorrow will be the same way.”

William Byron ended up second (185.153 mph) and Ryan Blaney was third (184.900 mph). Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 starters are Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell, who had the fastest speed in Round 1.

Heavy winds Saturday around the track wreaked havoc during the final round of qualifying. There is also a wind warning in effect for Sunday’s race as well.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	22	Joey Logano		Ford	1	29.024			186.053
2	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	1	29.165	0.141	0.141	185.153
3	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	1	29.205	0.181	0.040	184.900
4	54	Ty Gibbs		Toyota	1	29.262	0.238	0.057	184.540
5	8	Kyle Busch		Chevrolet	1	29.270	0.246	0.008	184.489
6	5	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	1	29.308	0.284	0.038	184.250
7	6	Brad Keselowski		Ford	1	29.333	0.309	0.025	184.093
8	1	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet	1	29.387	0.363	0.054	183.755
9	2	Austin Cindric		Ford	1	29.401	0.377	0.014	183.667
10	20	Christopher Bell		Toyota	1	29.424	0.400	0.023	183.524

Group B

Bell posted the fastest lap of the day at the time to lead Group B qualifying in Round 1 (185.065 mph).

Cindric ended up second (184.647 mph) and Keselowski third (184.527 mph). Also advancing to the final round were Gibbs and Chastain.

Among those who failed to advance were last year’s race winner, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	20	Christopher Bell		Toyota	1	29.179			185.065
2	2	Austin Cindric		Ford	1	29.245	0.066	0.066	184.647
3	6	Brad Keselowski		Ford	1	29.264	0.085	0.019	184.527
4	54	Ty Gibbs		Toyota	1	29.295	0.116	0.031	184.332
5	1	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet	1	29.297	0.118	0.002	184.319
6	48	Alex Bowman		Chevrolet	1	29.346	0.167	0.049	184.011
7	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	1	29.367	0.188	0.021	183.880
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