Joey Logano Wins Pole, Sets Pocono Track Record
Joey Logano celebrated on Saturday after capturing the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway as well as topping the track record, thanks to a track repave.
Fox News reports that 36 drivers in total broke the track record, but Logano just happened to be the fastest in his Number 20 Toyota, which turned a lap of 179.598 mph, going around the 2 1/2 mile track in 50.112 seconds.
What did the race car driver have to say of his win? The Home Depot-sponsored driver stated that after his run, he thought:
“I thought, ‘That ain’t going to be good enough to get a pole. The track was dirty. I felt I left a tenth (of a second) and a half on the table.”
But apparently he didn’t, and remarked that, “It’s cool to get a pole here. A new track record, too.”
Saturday’s pole was Joey Logano’s fourth of his career, his second at Pocono. He has one career victory so far, and has struggled in the 2012 season, sitting only 16th in points after 13 seasons, according to Sporting News. He is coming off of two straight top-10 finishes, and is optimistic about Sunday’s race. Logano stated:
“My guys did a good job focusing on getting the car handling right. My car is fast in qualifying trim and in race trim, so I’m really excited.”
The previous track record was set by Kasey Kahne, then-driver of the number 9 car, owned by Evernham Motorsports. Kahne’s previous record of 172.533 was set on June 11, 2004. He now races for Hendrick Motorsports in the number 5, and will start 10th on Sunday. Kahne qualified with a speed of 177.823 mph.
