In a sketchy qualifying session at WWT Raceway (Gateway), Joey Logano planted his No. 22 Team Penske Ford atop the speed charts with a 32.817s lap, a full 0.276s faster than Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
How impressive was that run by Logano? It was the biggest pole margin in any Cup qualifying session since Chicagoland 2017, when Kyle Busch beat Denny Hamlin by 0.277s.
“This is a race track we had circled, knowing we need to capitalize on it,” said Logano. “We need to score max points here and starting up front will help that for sure. Just gotta manage the strategy. We definitely have a fast car, though. In race trim, it’s really good — short run and long run. Obviously, qualifying was spectacular. I even felt like my lap was average”
Ryan Blaney will start third, Christopher Bell fourth, and Chase Briscoe fifth. Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and championship leader Denny Hamlin filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Alex Bowman will be the highest-starting driver not in the Chase, qualifying 11th.
Other Chase drivers starting deeper in the field: Austin Cindric in 13th, Ryan Preece 14th, Daniel Suarez 15th, Tyler Reddick 18th, Chris Buescher 21st, and William Byron 24th.
Qualifying recap
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Photo by: Amy Kontras via Getty Images
Connor Zilisch set the early pace, but by the halfway point of the session, it was Zane Smith leading the way with 33.420s lap.
Shane van Gisbergen and Michael McDowell had big wiggles on their laps, costing them dearly.
As the back-half of qualifying got underway, Alex Bowman immediately went to the top as some of the faster cars in the field got their shot.
Josh Berry absolutely could have gone to the top of the charts, but he nearly lost control through Turns 1 and 2. There were several other close calls and big lifts, with William Byron and Ryan Preece giving up some time as they slid up the track in Turn 4. Surprisingly, there were no incidents despite the tricky track conditions.
Hamlin was the next driver to go fastest of all, about a tenth clear of Bowman. However, it didn’t last long as Elliott replaced him atop the speed charts, further raising the bar. Hocevar was the next to go P1 despite running very high through Turns 1 and 2.
As expected, Penske was supremely strong, and Logano went over four tenths faster with a stunning 32.817s lap. No one could touch that, not even his teammate Blaney. Larson got to just within three tenths, but that was all the field had for the three-time champion and 2022 Gateway race winner.
NASCAR Cup starting lineup — 2026 WWT Raceway
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