New Blood on the Track: Joey Logano Dominates Sonoma Pole as NASCAR Returns to its Home Turf

In the freshly repaved Sonoma Raceway, Joey Logano has claimed his second career pole. With a lap of 97.771 mph, he set a blistering pace and will start at the front of the pack for Sunday’s race. His previous pole at Sonoma came in 2011, making this his third career pole on a road course.

Tyler Reddick will join him on the front row after posting a lap of 97.661 mph. Ryan Blaney, who narrowly missed victory last weekend due to running out of fuel, qualified third with a lap of 97.566 mph. Chase Elliott (97.562) will start fourth, while Kyle Larson (97.542) rounds out the top five despite hitting the tire barrier in Turn 4 during the final qualifying round.

Hendrick Motorsports cars have made it to the final round of qualifying for the seventh consecutive week, bouncing back after failing to put a car in the final round last week for the first time this season. William Byron (97.518) will start sixth, and Alex Bowman (97.420) will start eighth for Hendrick Motorsports. Defending race winner Martin Truex Jr., who has consistently started in the top 10 in the last seven Sonoma races, qualified 21st with a lap of 96.804 mph despite having some difficulties during practice sessions earlier this week due to an engine issue that forced him to sit out one session and miss valuable track time.

Two Australian Supercars drivers are making their Cup debut at Sonoma Raceway – Will Brown (96