{"id":46001,"date":"2024-05-18T13:45:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-18T18:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=46001"},"modified":"2024-05-19T10:10:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-19T15:10:36","slug":"joey-logano-snags-pole-position-for-nascar-all-star-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/18\/joey-logano-snags-pole-position-for-nascar-all-star-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey Logano snags pole position for NASCAR All-Star Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.\u2014During a qualifying session that incorporated a four-tire pit stop under the aegis of the Pit Crew Challenge, Joey Logano won the pole position for both Saturday evening\u2019s No. 1 Heat Race and the Sunday\u2019s $1-million-to win NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, pits during qualifying and pit crew challenge for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2024 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Logano ran the required three laps, including the pit stop, in 89.754 seconds (75.206 mph), beating fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski (74.884 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.386 seconds.<\/p>\n

Logano is the only driver locked into a starting position for Sunday\u2019s All-Star Race. The rest of the field is scheduled to be set through Saturday\u2019s two heat races.<\/p>\n

Logano\u2019s crew was fifth fastest on the pit stop. The winner of the Pit Crew Challenge\u2014and first choice of pit stalls for the All-Star Race\u2014was the over-the-wall gang on Christopher Bell\u2019s Toyota, posting a stop of 13.223 seconds, edging Keselowski\u2019s crew by 0.010 seconds.<\/p>\n

The same crew won last year\u2019s Pit Crew Challenge with a different Joe Gibbs Racing driver\u2014Ty Gibbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis qualifying session is the most fun session of the year,\u201d said Logano, the sixth of 17 drivers to attempt a run. \u201cAnd it really takes the whole team, right? The car\u2019s got to go fast, we\u2019ve got to execute onto pit road well, the spotter\u2019s got to do a good job helping me get through my lights (indicating pit road speed) and being on the same page with me there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to be able to stop in the stall. The pit crew\u2019s got to do their part, and then back up onto the race track. So it really takes every crew member.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell had the third fastest overall time (90.169 seconds), followed by Daniel Su\u00e1rez (90.199 seconds).<\/p>\n

Notably, Bell\u2019s crew was elated to do its part in the No. 20 Toyota\u2019s successful qualifying effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m blessed to be with a good group of guys,\u201d said rear tire changer Mike Hicks. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do this if I didn\u2019t have a good supporting cast. Those guys are the best on pit road, and we\u2019ve got a stud for a driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can you say? This is two in a row for these guys, and they\u2019ve been awesome,\u201d Bell added. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly happy for them and honored to be their driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to stop on my marks. That\u2019s been a huge topic of conversation in our meetings, in making sure you get to the sign deep enough and get the tires locked up, so they can get on the lug while you\u2019re stopping.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s obviously a big part of it\u2014and taking off as soon as that jack drops. And that was a hell of a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supersized hat memorializes the Petty family\u2019s 75 years in NASCAR racing<\/b><\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, in front of the main entrance to North Wilkesboro, Richard Petty and son Kyle Petty unveiled an oversized Petty hat to commemorate the accomplishments of the Petty family at the 0.625-mile short track.<\/p>\n

The hat is an apt symbol. For years, Richard Petty has worn trademark hats made for him by Charlie 1 Horse. The much larger version, made of fiberglass on a concrete base, features embossed photos of Petty\u2019s exploits and serves as a tribute to the Petty family\u2019s 75-year history in the sport.  <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to get the big head,\u201d Petty quipped when the hat was unveiled.<\/p>\n

Petty raced at North Wilkesboro 66 times, winning 15 of his record 200 NASCAR Cup Series races there. In 1959 and 1960, Petty\u2019s father, Lee Petty, won three straight events at the vaunted short track.<\/p>\n

Kyle Petty raced at North Wilkesboro 32 times, with a best finish of second (twice).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new fans out there don\u2019t know where NASCAR started,\u201d Richard Petty said after the dedication. \u201cThis gives them a throwback deal when they see the hat… So it\u2019s good for us, the Petty family, and it\u2019s good for the fans. NASCAR hasn\u2019t always been mile-and-a-half race tracks. There used to be some dirt tracks and short tracks like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were here when it first started. We\u2019ve been through all the changes with the cars, different kinds of tracks, different rules\u2014all that kind of stuff. We were here when it started. We were here when it was changing. We\u2019re here when it\u2019ll change again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seat time at North Wilkesboro is invaluable to Kevin Harvick in new role<\/b><\/p>\n

After Kevin Harvick retired from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing, he never expected to get an opportunity to drive a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in preparation for the NASCAR All-Star Race.<\/p>\n

But with Kyle Larson otherwise occupied with practice and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, Harvick was asked to practice and qualify the No. 5 Camaro for Sunday\u2019s $1-million exhibition event at North Wilkesboro Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Harvick considers the seat time in the Gen 7 car essential to his new role as full-time analyst for FOX Sports. The 2014 NASCAR Cup champion took particular note of the option and prime tire choices available to teams for the All-Star Race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s priceless,\u201d Harvick said of the opportunity. \u201cThis sport evolves quickly. To be able to understand the tires, the scenario that goes with how long these tires will last, how fast they go, what the feeling is and what all the scenarios are\u2026 listening to someone else\u2019s team\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI took my team (at Stewart-Haas Racing) for granted because we had been around for so long. To hear other people\u2019s thoughts and process and understand all those things to be able to relate to the fans, it\u2019s a pretty big deal to get a mid-year check of things that go with the evolution of our sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt evolves quickly and can leave you behind quickly. To be still engrained in it and understand where everything\u2019s at is always good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.\u2014During a qualifying session that incorporated a four-tire pit stop under the aegis of the Pit Crew Challenge, Joey Logano won the pole position for both Saturday evening\u2019s No. 1 Heat Race and the Sunday\u2019s $1-million-to win NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":46004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[154,16,774],"class_list":["post-46001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-joey-logano","tag-nascar","tag-north-wilkesboro-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/GettyImages-2153565898-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-bXX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46001"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46006,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46001\/revisions\/46006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}