​HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Team Penske is sitting on the front row for Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway after strong qualifying performances. Ryan Blaney captured the pole with a lap of 30.815 seconds, speeding to 179.912 mph in Saturday’s session. Teammate Joey Logano joined him at the front, posting a 30.851-second lap at 179.702 mph to secure the outside spot on the front row.
Blaney said it’s satisfying to see Penske cars occupy the top two spots, and he also noted the potential benefits of working with other Ford teams. “Feels good to have a Penske front row,” Blaney commented, adding that he believes the teams can coordinate effectively as the weekend progresses. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get organized at some point, but it’s nice that Joey and I are starting at the front.”
Blaney sits third in the overall Cup Series standings. The morning’s fastest time belonged to Blaney’s observation of the competition, with points leader Denny Hamlin and second-place Tyler Reddick qualifying 28th and 31st, respectively, in their 23XI Racing Toyotas. Blaney acknowledged that Toyotas typically don’t excel in qualifying on these shorter speedways but could be formidable in the draft during the race. “They normally don’t qualify great at these speedways,” he said, “but they can probably be aggressive in the draft. … You look at the spring race here. The Toyotas were really good in the race.”
Reddick enters EchoPark Speedway as the defending race winner after triumphing there on Feb. 22. Kyle Larson ran third in qualifying, ahead of Austin Dillon and Daniel Suárez. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott qualified sixth and seventh, respectively, with Elliott aiming to build on his home-track success following last summer’s victory at the venue near Atlanta.
Rounding out the top 10 were Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain and Brad Keselowski, who completed the strong qualifying field. As the green flag approaches, teams will be weighing strategy, drafting partnerships, and pit-stop efficiency, with the goal of mounting a strong challenge to Blaney and Logano from the front row.
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