HAMPTON, Ga.—In Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Joey Logano failed to make the final session of knockout time trials for the first time on an open-motor track.
Logano qualified 14th for Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 at the 1.54-mile track, but the winner of last week’s Bristol race isn’t particularly concerned about his starting position. Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford was fast enough to pace Saturday’s first Sprint Cup practice session with a lap at 189.351 mph.
“You have to go fast for a long time here, but we were OK, even on the long runs, Logano said after the session, which was truncated by an afternoon rainstorm. “We never put new tires on it, so we kind of just kept working,
“We’ll see. I think the 4 car (of pole winner Kevin Harvick) is super-fast, but I don’t think we’re far behind him.”
Kenseth Looking For A Win
Matt Kenseth is a likely Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifier whether he wins one of the final two regular-season races or not, but the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota would rather solidify his Chase berth with a victory.
In final Sprint Cup practice at Atlanta, Kenseth was headed in the right direction. He was fastest in the Happy Hour with a lap at 188.251 mph. Given that Atlanta is a track where the Gibbs cars traditionally have excelled, Kenseth has to like his chances in race trim on Sunday night.
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