This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Brooklyn, Mich. • Joey Logano won the pole at Michigan International Speedway — and lately at this track, that's been a pretty good indicator of things to come.
It's Logano's third pole in 16 Cup races at MIS, and the previous two times he won the pole, he also went on to win the race. That includes his victory at Michigan in June.
In fact, three of the last four race winners at Michigan also took the pole — Logano this year, Matt Kenseth last August and Jeff Gordon in August of 2014.
"Obviously starting up front here is an advantage for sure when you talk about track position and safety on restarts, being how crazy it is with the low-downforce package on restarts," Logano said. "Having the first pit stall is probably the most important of all that."
Logano won Friday with a lap of 201.698 mph in his No. 22 Ford. Jimmie Johnson was second in qualifying for Sunday's race, followed by Denny Hamlin.
Logano has won 17 poles in his Cup career and three in 2016.
Johnson won twice early this season but has only two top-10 finishes in his last 10 races, so his strong showing in qualifying was encouraging.
"All signs are pointing toward progress being made and I'm very excited about that. I just want to thank everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for their long hours and all the time they're putting in to get a little better in all areas," Johnson said. —
Pure Michigan 400 lineup
After Friday qualifying; race Sunday
At Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Mich.
Lap length • 2 miles
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 201.698 mph.
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 201.523.
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 201.416.
4. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 201.382.
5. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 201.303.
6. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 201.207.
7. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 201.202.
8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 201.039.
9. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 201.005.
10. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 200.462.
11. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200.028.
12. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 199.341.
13. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 200.390.
14. (78) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 200.356.
15. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 200.323.
16. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200.245.
17. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.106.
18. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.017.
19. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 199.253.
20. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 199.203.
21. (34) Chris Buescher, Ford, 198.912.
22. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 198.791.
23. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 198.747.
24. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 198.183.
25. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 198.265.
26. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 198.178.
27. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 198.129.
28. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 197.553.
29. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 197.509.
30. (44) Brian Scott, Ford, 196.105.
31. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 196.084.
32. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 196.057.
33. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 195.567.
34. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 195.159.
35. (95) Sam Hornish Jr., Chevrolet, 194.458.
36. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 192.838.
37. (98) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 192.072.
38. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 191.939.
39. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 188.966.
40. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 0.000.