It was somewhat of a redeeming moment for Joey Logano. Logano scored his third consecutive Martinsville pole Friday night leading all three of the knockout qualifying sessions. The Penske Racing driver put down a fast lap of 19.513 seconds, 97.043 mph, two minutes into the final five-minute session on the .526-mile paperclip-shaped short track for the 15th pole of his career.
It marks the first time a driver has swept all three sessions since NASCAR instituted knockout qualifying in 2014 and he is the first driver to win three consecutive poles at Martinsville since Jeff Gordon did it in 2003-2004.
“Anytime you can tie Jeff Gordon with a record that he’s got here at Martinsville makes me feel good,” Logano said.