It’s been an eventful few weeks for Denny Hamlin. Two weeks ago, he was fined by NASCAR for remarks he made about the Gen-6 car, and last week, he was involved in a war of words with Joey Logano that resulted in a tussle in the garage between their respective teams.
NASCAR Fontana 2013 qualifying results: Hamlin wins pole, apologizes to Logano
Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR race and issued an apology afterward for questioning the driving ability of Joey Logano last week at Bristol.
Jonathan Ferrey
At Auto Club Speedway Friday, Hamlin again found himself in the news as he put his No. 11 Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s running of the Auto Club 400 with a lap of 187.451 mph.
When speaking with the media following his first pole-winning run of the season, Hamlin took the time to apologize for the comments he made last week about Logano’s driving ability.
“I probably shouldn’t have gave that last little jab at the end,” Hamlin said. “Probably should have just left it alone after the question was asked about what he said.
“It’s not up to me to determine where he stands among the elite of NASCAR. I think that it’s the fans and the teams who decide that. I didn’t need to give my opinion on that. I think that was kind of a low blow.”
Hamlin also said he has no further issue with Logano going forward, though the two have yet to talk.
Greg Biffle and Brad Keselowski posted the second- and third-fastest times, respectively. However, both will have to forfeit their starting positions and go to the back of the grid after making engine changes prior to qualifying.
Biffle and Keselowski both use Ford Roush Yates engines and Biffle admitted afterward that their motor problems may be similar in nature.
“We feel like the issues could be common between the 2 (Keselowski) car and my car,” he said. “I think they are thinking it is the same issue and something mechanical, something parts wise inside the engine at the bottom of the engine, I think. We will know here after we take it apart but right now we are sort of guessing.”
Neither driver, however, is worried about starting in the back due to the wide track surface, which gives drivers multiple grooves to complete passes. Biffle said he could be up front in 100 laps, and Keselowski countered, saying it would only take him 99 laps to do so.
Tony Stewart, who won this race a year ago, qualified eighth.
Complete Auto Club 400 Starting Lineup:
1) Denny Hamlin
2) Greg Biffle
3) Brad Keselowski
4) Kyle Busch
5) Matt Kenseth
6) Joey Logano
7) Martin Truex Jr.
8) Tony Stewart
9) Mark Martin
10) Kurt Busch
11) Casey Mears
12) Juan Pablo Montoya
13) Clint Bowyer
14) Kevin Harvick
15) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
16) Kasey Kahne
17) Jamie McMurray
18) Jimmie Johnson
19) Jeff Gordon
20) Ryan Newman
21) Marcos Ambrose
22) Jeff Burton
23) Aric Almirola
24) Carl Edwards
25) Bobby Labonte
26) AJ Allmendinger
27) Paul Menard
28) David Reutimann
29) Dave Blaney
30) Josh Wise
31) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
32) David Stremme
33) Travis Kvapil
34) David Gilliland
35) Michael McDowell
36) Landon Cassill
37) JJ Yeley
38) Scott Riggs
39) Timmy Hill
40) Danica Patrick
41) Mike Bliss
42) David Ragan
43) Joe Nemechek
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