When Joey Logano last visited Martinsville Speedway he left disappointed, the unwilling recipient of one of the most nefarious acts in NASCAR history. Although the stakes are significantly lower, Logano found some modicum of solace by capturing the pole in qualifying Friday at the Virginia short track.
Motivated Joey Logano wins third straight Martinsville pole
Inspired after having watched what happened to him last November at Martinsville, Joey Logano sped to the pole in qualifying Friday.
Logano was leading the November playoff race with 46 laps remaining when Matt Kenseth, nine laps behind, purposely crashed Logano into the Turn 1 wall. Kenseth was seeking retribution for what he perceived to be a previous transgression by Logano, an act that earned Kenseth a two-race suspension and effectively eliminated Logano from the playoffs and prevented him from winning the championship.
“To be quite honest with you it’s hard to erase it from your mind,” Logano said after winning his first pole of 2016. “It happened. It’s in the past though, but it is something that drives you. You’ve got to use things like that to motivate you.”
Logano admitted to having watched a replay of the November Martinsville race Thursday night, making him inspired but unhappy as he went to bed. He used that motivation to win his third consecutive pole at the half-mile oval, the oldest track on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, joining Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Darrell Waltrip and Glen Wood as the only drivers to accomplish that feat.
“I think re-watching the race and stuff like that, if that doesn’t give you a little fire, nothing does,” Logano said. “I know I felt really excited and really pumped up and jacked up to come to this race track and show what we’re made out of.
“This is a good start; qualifying here is more important than any other race track we go to. Having a good pit stall pays a lot here because you’re coming down pit road so many times. And also starting up front allows you to save your car.”
On Friday, Logano established himself as the presumptive favorite to take the pole after setting the fast time in the first two sessions of qualifying. The Team Penske driver then backed it up in the decisive third round posting a speed of 97.043 to narrowly edge second-place qualifier Kasey Kahne (97.033).
Brian Vickers, substituting for the injured Tony Stewart, qualified third, with Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard and Ryan Newman fourth and fifth, respectively. Completing the top 10 were AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and rookie Chase Elliott.
Several notable names struggled to record a good lap, with Kevin Harvick qualifying 19th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 21st, Kurt Busch 23rd and, most surprisingly, Jimmie Johnson 24th. All four are former Martinsville winners, with Johnson’s eight victories most among active drivers.
Each of the 40 drivers who entered qualified for Sunday’s race, the sixth event of the season.
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