Keselowski to start on pole at Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. — A few drivers, like Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, raced onto the track to get in their qualifying sessions. Others waited, some nearly 10 minutes before heading out for the first time.
There were long stretches with almost no activity followed by mad scrambles to get runs in before time ran out. Car raced past each other at close to a 100 mph difference.
No doubt, this first round of NASCAR’s new knockout qualifying was a little strange and will take some getting used to.
Brad Keselowski earned the first Sprint Cup pole under NASCAR’s new format, edging Joey Logano with a track-record top speed of 139.384 mph at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday.
“It’s a lot more nerveracking,” Keselowski said. “Usually a pretty good rule of thumb is that If it’s more nerveracking for the drivers, it’s a lot more fun for our fans and partners and all those things, and that’s a good thing. I more interested in feedback from our fans to see if they liked it.”
Keselowski was one of the first drivers to go out in the first session and finished behind Logano. He trumped his teammate in the shorter, second session to earn his fourth career pole and a spot on the front row for Sunday’s 312-mile race.
Jamie McMurray qualified third, defending Sprint Cup champion was fourth and Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start fifth next to Greg Biffle.
“The qualifying format was before because I felt like I was one of those guys it was exciting for me because I wasn’t in, I made another run, I got in,” McMurray said. “The excitement was there.”
NASCAR made numerous changes for this season, including a tweaked qualifying process in an effort to liven up what had become a monotonous part of race weekend.
Instead of going out one at a time, the entire field gets a 30-minute session to post their fastest lap, with the top 12 moving on to a 10-minute second round. On bigger tracks, the qualifying will have three sessions, with the field cut to 24 then 12.
NASCAR got a glimpse of the new system at Daytona last week, but it didn’t last long; the Nationwide series was able to get in one round before rain washed out the rest of the qualifying and for the Truck Series.
The Daytona 500 didn’t use the new qualifying process, so Phoenix was the inaugural go-round.
No one knew quite what to expect and there was a bit of concern about drivers intentionally blocking each other to prevent fast lap times, something NASCAR officials planned to keep an eye on.
PHILADELPHIA — Jeremy Maclin said Friday he turned down a five-year contract offer from the Eagles to ink a one-year deal he’ll use as the springboard to work out a long-term pact during this season.
It seems like a good idea at this time for Maclin.
Maclin is convinced that when the Eagles realize he’s all the way back from a torn ACL in his right knee, comfortable playing the slot and above all, able to get open against manto-man coverage, they’ll lock him up for life. That’s the plan.
“The Eagles expressed that they wanted me back and I think by them offering me a longterm deal, I feel like that made me comfortable enough that I’m in their long-term plans,” Maclin said during an availability at the NovaCare Complex. “So hopefully, come mid-season we’ll be able to do something when I’m here … long-
JEREMY MACLIN term.”
General manager Howie Roseman, reached after Maclin spoke, interrupted his usual contract avoidance maneuver to indicate revisiting this contract was a possibility.
“He’s a guy that we’d love to have around longterm as well,” Roseman said. “We’re excited to have Jeremy back. That was our goal when we started in the offseason. Really, that’s been our goal all along is to have him back here. We’re really excited to see what he can do in this offense.”