Logano on pole again at Michigan
Bowman, driving for Earnhardt, is sixth in qualifying.
Joey Logano won the pole Friday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
It’s Logano’s third pole in 16 Cup races at MIS, and the previous two times he started first, he went on to win the race. That includes his victory at Michigan in June, his only win of the season.
Logano, in a Ford, was first Friday with a lap of 201.698 mph on the 2-mile oval at Brooklyn. Jimmie Johnson was second in qualifying for Sunday’s race.
“Obviously st ar ting 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.”
T h e c a r s e a c h h a v e a low-downforce aerodynamic setup that NASCAR plans to employ full time next season.
Alex Bowman, who is filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., qualified sixth in a Chevrolet.
Bowman, 23, drove for Earnhardt at New Hampshire last month and finished 26th after wrecking because of a tire problem, but Jeff Gordon has filled in the past four races. Earnhardt will miss at least two more races as he recovers from a concussion, with Gordon scheduled to drive for him next week at Darlington.
Bowman said he spoke with Earnhardt on Friday.
“Him and I went back and forth on the rules package and what to expect and just what he thought the race car was going to do and whatnot,” Bowman said. “As far as going forward, we hav- en’t discussed that at all.”
Bowman’s best finish in 72 Cup starts was a 13th at Daytona in July 2014.
Xfinit y: Alex Tagliani, in a Ford, will start first in today’s race at Road America after qualifying with a lap at 109.866 mph on the 4-mile, 14-turn course in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Michael McDowell was next at 109.561.
Fo r mul a One : S e r i e s leader Lewis Hamilton will start from the back row in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. That’s because he took a 15-place penalty in Friday’s morning practice session for having changed too many engine parts this season on his Mercedes, and was then handed a further 15-place penalty following another component change in the afternoon.
Teammate Nico Rosberg, who trails Hamilton by 19 points, has a chance to start up front based on today’s qualifying, but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were 1-2 in the second practice Friday.