Logano to Launch from Pole at Pocono Cup Race

 

Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

 

Taking his second pole of the season, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Joey Logano will lead the 43-car NASCAR Sprint Cup field to green for Sunday's Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway. Rounding the 2.5-mile oval in 52.309 seconds, the #20 Toyota grabbed the pole position from the #56 Toyota driven by Martin Truex Jr. Logano's top time would hold up against the effort mounted by Kasey Kahne #4 Red Bull Toyota for the time trial triumph.

 

With Joey Logano's name mixed in the NASCAR Sprint cup Silly Season, the 21-year old driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota is looking to renovate his season with a top finish. Prior to this week, the strongest rumours had current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader Carl Edwards signing to drive the #20 for 2012. As Edwards and Roush Fenway Racing announced a multi-year deal on Thursday, Logano's role in the Joe Gibbs Racing team has gained some security.

 

After a Toyota Camry sweep of the top-three for the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, the resigned Carl Edwards sailed his #99 Ford Fusion to a 4th place at Pocono Raceway. In the June Pocono event, the #99 Roush Fenway Racing team lost their considerable lead in the series points due to a mechanical problem costing the team several laps in the event. Kurt Busch's #22 Dodge and the #11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin will start from the third row at Pocono. The fourth row will be an all-Richard Childress Racing pairing with recent Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard 400 winner Paul Menard having position over Jeff Burton. Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick completes the top-10 for Sunday's race.

 

 

 

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup

Pocono, Pennsylvania

Good Sam RV Insurance 500

Starting Line-up

 

1. 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
2. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
3. 56 Martin Truex, Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
4. 99 Carl Edwards Ortho Home Defense Max Ford
5. 22 Kurt Busch Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
6. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
7. 27 Paul Menard CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet
8. 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
9. 16 Greg Biffle 3M/811 Ford
10. 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
11. 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
12. 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet
13. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge
14. 33 Clint Bowyer Good Sam Club Chevrolet
15. 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
16. 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
17. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet
18. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
19. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
20. 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
21. 36 Dave Blaney Golden Corral Chevrolet
22. 47 Bobby Labonte Reese Towpower/Highland Toyota
23. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
24. 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
25. 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
26. 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
27. 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford
28. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
29. 43 AJ Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
30. 66 Todd Bodine HP Racing, LLC Toyota
31. 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet
32. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota
33. 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
34. 55 JJ Yeley Front Row Motorsports Ford
35. 46 Erik Darnell Red Line Ford
36. 51 Landon Cassill PhoenixConstruction/SecurityBenefit Chev
37. 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet
38. 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy Dodge
39. 38 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford
40. 37 Scott Speed Max Q Motorsports Ford
41. 32 Jason White Gunbroker.com Ford
42. 71 Andy Lally Interstate Moving Services Ford
43. 87 Joe Nemechek AM FM Energy Toyota

Tony Stewart starts on Pocono Sprint Cup Race Pole

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

One week following an interesting Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series takes on another 2.5 mile track in the form of the triangular-shaped Pocono Raceway.

Through Friday afternoon qualifying for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 saw driver/owner Tony Stewart sailing his Chevrolet on to the pole for Sunday's event. Taking top spot at 171.393 miles per hour for the his 2nd pole of 2010, driver Stewart remains winless after 20 races. The Pocono qualifying session proved strong for the Stewart/Haas team as Ryan Newman placed the organization's #39 Chevrolet into 5th on the starting grid.

Starting second, Juan Pablo Montoya rolls into this weekend with some popular scars from the past race at Indy. With a car to beat at the historic track, a mistake in pit strategy and a late race crash which collected Dale Earnhardt Jr saw the #42 Target Chevy of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing end in the garage. The intense Montoya secluded himself immediately following his car's retirement from the Brickyard 400 but he returns to Pocono hungry for his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup win on an oval.

With less of a trouble finding victory lane, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin has five wins in the #20 FedEx Toyota including the NASCAR Sprint Cup's June event at Pocono. Hamlin will be starting the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 in 3rd spot ahead of Jeff Gordon, Newman and Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR Sprint Cup's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 is planned to receive its command to start engines at 1 P.M. Eastern time. However, weather forecasts are threatening the Long Pond, Pennsylvania track race Sunday. A 60% chance of thunderstorms exist in the area according to the Weather Channel.

Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Pocono Raceway

1) 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
2) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
3) 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
4) 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
5) 39 Ryan Newman U.S.Army Chevrolet
6) 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
7) 43 A J Allmendinger Insignia HDTV Ford
8) 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
9) 1 Jamie McMurray AXE Twist Chevrolet
10) 5 Mark Martin Hendrickcars.com / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet


Other Notables

13) 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite / Vortex Dodge
14) 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
17) 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
20) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet
21) 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
40) 33 Clint Bowyer The Hartford Chevrolet