Logano in driver’s seat as NASCAR playoffs heat up

KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Joey Logano hopped out of his car and jokingly thanked his Penske Racing team for all the wise adjustments that they made before he qualified on the pole for Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.

The truth was they changed absolutely nothing.

“We made zero changes from the time we unloaded to qualifying,” Logano said after his lap of 191.646 mph landed him on the pole. “They did a great job of preparing the car.”

Logano heads into the final race before the playoff field is cut from 12 to eight with a 39-point buffer, so it wasn’t as if he was in trouble. But starting up front allows him to chase stage points early and that could eliminate some of the pressure later in the race.

“It helps a little bit. We want to be able to score some stage points to start,” he said, “but hopefully we don’t have to worry about points and we can just go win the race.”

Kevin Harvick is in similar shape after qualifying second Friday, while fellow playoff drivers Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski rounded out qualifying’s top five.

Keselowski is the first driver outside the playoff cutoff.

Kyle Busch, who sits between Harvick and Logano in the playoffs, will start sixth after a solid effort at a track he’s slowly grown to love. Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. are on the bubble, and the Kansas native will start 14th while the reigning series champion will start 12th.

Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10, while Kyle Larson crashed his primary car in practice and officially qualified 27th, though he’ll be sent to the back on Sunday.