Joey Logano (pictured) led an armada of Fords into the top eight starting spot for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway.

Logano clocked in at 30.979 seconds (178.960 mph) in Friday’s qualifying session to secure his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at EchoPark and the 32nd of his career.

Logano matched the time posted earlier by Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, but the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford got the nod for the pole on an owner points tiebreaker.

Ryan Blaney posted the third fastest lap at 178.937 mph, followed by Austin Cindric at 178.626 mph, as Team Penske drivers and the Penske affiliate Wood Brothers locked out the first two rows for Sunday’s race, the opening round of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge.

Logano faces ninth-place qualifier Alex Bowman in the first round.

“Being up front and controlling this race is the name of the game,” said Logano, who won last year’s second Atlanta race, which was held in September. “If you can get up there and solidify the top position, I feel like you can stay there. The thing is, there are a lot of ‘What ifs?’ that play out in this race, a lot of cautions that may be timed in a different way, where it can jumble up the field.

“It’s hard to say you’re going to be leading every lap… The good thing is that we controlled what we could today. I’m super proud of Team Penske, Roush Yates (Engines), Ford, obviously to keep our Mustangs up there. It really shows the ability to repeat from car to car, which is really hard to do.

“We tied with the 21 (Berry) and the other cars were within a couple hundredths of a second.”

Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Zane Smith completed the Ford sweep of the top eight starting spots.

Bowman drove the fastest Chevrolet to ninth on the grid, and Pocono Raceway winner Chase Briscoe was 10th in the quickest Toyota.

Denny Hamlin, top seed in the In-Season Challenge, qualified 33rd but expects his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to fare better in race trim. Nevertheless, Hamlin starts 19 spots behind Ty Dillon, the driver he has to beat to advance to the second round of the tournament.

Briscoe, the second seed, starts 17 positions ahead of close friend Noah Gragson, his first-round opponent.

Qualifying was interrupted by a 30-minute lightning hold, but no rain hit the track despite storms in the area.

Starting Lineup

NASCAR begins its In-Season Challenge during the race at Echo Park Speedway, where 32 drivers will compete in head-to-head matchups.

The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into the Atlanta area for a Saturday night race that will also serve as the debut of its inaugural In-Season Challenge.

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. (pictured with Sainz Sr.) admits he is disappointed for “motorsport” that his father has bowed out of the race to replace controversial FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Rally icon Sainz senior, 63, declared this week that after a long period of deliberation, he had decided not to tackle the presidential elections in December.

“Disappointed?” Williams driver Sainz, 30, said when asked about it in Austria.

“As his son, no, but as a motorsport fan, yes.”

Indeed, Sainz senior had revealed over the past several weeks that he had been personally head-hunted by many who regarded him as a credible alternative to the increasingly divisive Ben Sulayem.

“Many would have liked to see my father trying and seeing what he could have done for the sport,” Sainz confirmed.

“But as his son, and after evaluating with him a bit all the aspects he had to be involved in and manage to confirm his candidacy for the presidency, I think I understand why he isn’t doing it and why he’s letting it go to focus on his own affairs.”

4-time grand prix winner Sainz also hinted that his father is unlikely to launch a more credible bid for the presidency of F1’s governing body in the future.

“Never say never,” said Sainz, “but I think the ideal time was now, given the current situation, for him to come in and try to have a positive impact.

“I don’t know if it would be ideal in four or eight years, but yes, never say never. But right now he is certainly not interested.”

When asked what sort of contribution his father would have made to the FIA, Williams driver Sainz pointed to what he sees as some of the current problems.

“In recent years, drivers have felt a certain lack of transparency and understanding with those at the top of the FIA,” he explained.

“And while the intentions have sometimes been good and the way the FIA has tried to do things has always been in the best spirit, I feel that, as drivers, we have always been a bit excluded. At times, our opinions have not been heard enough.”

Some think it’s interesting that, just as Sainz senior bows out of the running, the Ben Sulayem-led FIA has suddenly made the F1 stewards’ penalty guidelines public.

“Sometimes there have been corrections,” 30-year-old Sainz acknowledges, “but clearly, on other occasions, we haven’t felt the same, and we’ve made that very clear in our statements.

“We’ll see if it improves, and perhaps today’s press release from the FIA is already a sign of intentions to make everything a little clearer.”

NORWALK — Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley picked up the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday at Summit Motorsports Park, putting him in position for his first top spot of 2025 at the 19th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 10th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Selections were also made for the opening round of the Pro Stock All-Star Callout, which takes place on Saturday. Top seed Anderson called out six-time champ Erica Enders, while Dallas Glenn picked Troy Coughlin Jr. Matt Hartford selected Eric Latino, setting the other first-round matchup as Aaron Stanfield against Jeg Coughlin Jr. The first round of the Pro Stock All-Star Callout takes place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with the semifinals at 1:20 p.m. and the finals at 3:50 p.m.

Ashley went 3.752-seconds at 330.88 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Scag Power Equipment dragster, holding off points leader Tony Stewart and Antron Brown as he seeks his first No. 1 qualifier of the year and seventh in his career. Ashley heads to Norwalk on a strong note, having advanced to the final round at five of the past six races. He was also named the Top Fuel winner last Sunday in Richmond after Shawn Langdon’s final-round run against Ashley was disqualified.

“Unlike in years prior, I feel like we’ve kind of flown under the radar a little bit this year. When you look at the first nine races, we’ve been to a total of five final rounds and that’s a really difficult thing to do in today’s Top Fuel class,” Ashley said.

“You know, we want to win races. It’s our goal to win races, but we also want to pick up steam here, you know, midway through the year and make sure that we’re in a good position going into the Countdown. That was a really good lap for us tonight. Tomorrow and Sunday, obviously it will be different conditions, but a nice job all the way around by the team.”

Brown took the second spot with a run of 3.755 at 333.33 and Stewart is third, going 3.755 at 327.11 after a huge engine explosion during the first session.

Funny Car’s Cruz Pedregon appears headed for an impressive turnaround and made another strong step on Friday in Norwalk, grabbing the provisional No. 1 spot in a loaded 21-car field with a stellar run of 3.890 at 318.39 in his 12,000-horsepower Snap-On Makers and Fixers Dodge Hellcat.

That gives the veteran and two-time world champion a strong chance to pick up his first No. 1 qualifier in more than two years, which would be another big step for the team. Currently, Pedregon is 11th in points, but he could make up ground in a major way if he can repeat Friday’s performance the next two days.

“We rolled the dice. Going up there it was either going to make a good run or we were going to see a whole lot of tire smoke,” Pedregon said. “I thought to myself we might mess around and rip down there and make a good run. I know you’re probably tired of hearing me, but we’re right there.

“We just need a little racing luck. It goes a long way. I have a young group. Jason (Bunker) my crew chief, is a young guy and most of my crew member are as well. Austin Prock has the Prock Rocket and we have the Bunker Buster.”

Points leader and defending world champion Prock is right behind in second with a 3.900 at 331.28 and Bristol winner Ron Capps is third after going 3.908 at 325.06.

In Pro Stock, Anderson enjoyed an ideal Friday to get ready for the Pro Stock All-Star Callout, making the quickest run in both qualifying sessions. That included a second session pass of 6.594 at 206.78 in his HendrickCars.com/Summit Racing Equipment as the points leader and reigning world champion continues to roll.

Should that hold, Anderson would take home his fourth No. 1 of the season and 136th in his career, but Anderson’s main focus was the confidence he’ll take into tomorrow’s Callout. The standout, who picked up his 1,000th career round win in Bristol, loved that it moved to Norwalk and he’ll be after a repeat win in the bonus race.

“I’ve got as much confidence as you can possibly take going into Saturday and Sunday but the truth is that in Pro Stock, cars are within .02-seconds and you never know who is going to win,” Anderson said. “We’ve got four cars in the (Callout) tomorrow so I like our chances.

“I was melting today. We all complain that it was too hot but it was a good day. My race car made two good runs. I’ve got a race winning horse, let’s just see if I can jockey it right.”

Glenn is currently second with a 6.596 at 207.15 and Matt Hartford’s 6.604 at 207.21 has him third.

Matt Smith put together a standout run to close the day in Pro Stock Motorcycle, going 6.824 at 200.68 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. It puts the six-time world champion on track for his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and 59th in his career.

Smith led the points after the first two races but has suffered back-to-back losses in the second round at the most recent two events. Friday’s run is a sign he’s about to get on track and the veteran would love for it to happen in Norwalk.

“We’ve gotten beat up this year with the performance of the Vance & Hines bikes,” Smith said. “We’re behind about two or three hundredths but sometimes that’s all it takes. Today was very humid, and the air was bad, but track is very good and we made some nice runs. I’m No. 1 and John (Hall) is second and Ron (Tornow) is up there too.

“I think we’re in a good spot. We stayed Monday after Virginia to try and better ourselves. We tested in 101-degree heat and we’re focused on trying to get our four bikes in the top eight.”

Hall made two strong passes on Friday, including a 6.832 at 199.35 that puts him second, while Tornow is third after a 6.874 at 197.88.

Qualifying continues at noon Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.

NORWALK, Ohio — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 19th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, 10th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel

1. Justin Ashley, 3.752 seconds, 330.88 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.755, 333.33; 3. Tony Stewart, 3.755, 327.11; 4. Brittany Force, 3.784, 331.77; 5. Shawn Langdon, 3.789, 324.59; 6. Dan Mercier, 3.813, 327.82; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.816, 319.37; 8. Josh Hart, 3.818, 325.37; 9. Clay Millican, 3.823, 324.20; 10. Shawn Reed, 3.847, 322.42; 11. Steve Torrence, 3.858, 326.56; 12. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.895, 305.29; 13. Doug Foley, 3.912, 305.29; 14. Will Smith, 3.997, 283.85; 15. Doug Kalitta, 3.997, 270.32; 16. Lex Joon, 6.317, 112.11.

Not Qualified: 17. Scott Farley, 10.120, 49.76.

Funny Car

1. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.890, 318.39; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.900, 331.28; 3. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.908, 325.06; 4. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.913, 321.35; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.926, 329.67; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 3.960, 327.11; 7. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.972, 322.50; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.997, 321.50; 9. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.005, 314.97; 10. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.040, 317.19; 11. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.061, 322.50; 12. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.072, 311.56; 13. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.087, 312.57; 14. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.127, 276.75; 15. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.150, 299.86; 16. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.229, 230.17.

Not Qualified: 17. Bobby Bode, 4.386, 205.19; 18. Julie Nataas, 5.037, 157.28; 19. Joe Morrison, 5.248, 147.04; 20. Mike McIntire, 5.617, 108.60; 21. Chris King, 6.759, 100.09.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.594, 206.76; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.596, 207.15; 3. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.604, 207.21; 4. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.613, 206.73; 5. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.619, 205.57; 6. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.626, 206.57; 7. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.630, 206.95; 8. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.631, 207.82; 9. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.631, 205.66; 10. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.632, 206.89; 11. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.639, 207.05; 12. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.652, 207.59; 13. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.653, 204.35; 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.677, 207.08; 15. Derrick Reese, Ford Mustang, 6.721, 203.98; 16. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.747, 204.73.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.824, 200.68; 2. John Hall, Beull, 6.832, 199.35; 3. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.874, 197.88; 4. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.888, 195.59; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.902, 196.73; 6. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.906, 196.79; 7. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.935, 199.08; 8. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.964, 191.84; 9. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.966, 194.55; 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.990, 194.72; 11. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.047, 192.63; 12. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.385, 181.89; 13. Odolph Daniels, Suzuki, 7.483, 178.02.

HAMPTON, Ga. — The debut of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge in Saturday night’s Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers.

After all, there’s a points race to attend to. Every team’s top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven’t paid attention to the new race within the race.

Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction.

“If there’s something to win, you want to go win it,” Logano said Friday before winning the pole for Saturday night’s race in his Team Penske Ford.

Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

Briscoe said Friday he felt “definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders” following last week’s win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived.

“I’m expected to win multiple races, not just one,” Briscoe said. “It’s a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.”

NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night’s race.

“I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,” said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford.

“I think it’ll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,” Keselowski said.

Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: “It’s cool. I think after this weekend you’ll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.”

Team Penske dominates qualifying

Penske claimed four of the top five qualifying positions and Ford claimed all of the top five spots.

Logano was first at 178.960 mph, tying Josh Berry, who drives for Wood Brothers but has a technical alliance with Team Penske. Ryan Blaney qualified third and Austin Cindric was one spot back for Team Penske, while Ryan Preece, in another Ford for RFK Racing, was fifth.

“It definitely helps at the start for sure,” Logano said. “Being at the front and controlling the race is the thing for sure.”

Drawing ‘Uncle’ Noah

Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it’s a difficult matchup, in part because “he’s actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son’s favorite driver.”

Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson “like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he’s with them.”

Added Briscoe: “Hopefully I’ll win. If not I’ll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.”

Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son’s bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father’s No. 19 winning every round of the tournament.

Odds and ends

Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next.

Daniel Suarez’s future in NASCAR remains muddled in uncertainty, though he is still relaxed about his situation for the time being.

The Mexican driver’s contract expires at the end of the season after he signed a one-year extension last year.

Suarez notched an impressive win at the Xfinity race in Mexico City, capturing the victory at his home race.

In the Cup Series, results have been a mixed bag. Suarez only has one top-five finish, while the other two drivers at Trackhouse Racing had much more success than the Mexican driver.

His teammates Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen both won races this season and are playoff-bound.

While this season is not going the way Suarez wants, he is still hopeful that he will stay with the team.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said on the Dale Jr. Download.

“There [are] still a lot of things [up] in the air, right now. There [are] just some things that I’m just uncomfortable in a few areas, a few things, but I love Trackhouse and I love this team. And this team for me has been my best home in the Cup Series.

“I want to have more success with this team and I want to see this team successful, regardless of if I’m in it or not. But we’ll see what happens.

“Right now, honestly, everything is an option. But I think there are a lot of things that honestly, I don’t even know the answer. All I know is that things are going to work out. They always do. I’m working very, very hard. The team is doing their job. The [No.] 99 team, what an amazing group of guys.

“My crew chief, mechanics, and the pit crew. I have an amazing group, and we’ll see what happens. But there are still a lot of things in the air, and I hope that everything works out in a way that everyone is happy.”

Suarez broke into NASCAR with Joe Gibbs Racing, eventually leaving to join Stewart-Haas Racing, before ending up at Trackhouse.

Trackhouse has JR Motorsports standout Connor Zilisch as the team’s development driver.

His impressive racing in the Xfinity series might net him a seat in the Cup Series.

Suarez needs a win to capture a playoff spot and potentially save his seat.

“A lot of things have happened in the last 10 months or so,” Suarez added on his podcast appearance.

“I love Trackhouse. This is my home, and I’m forever thankful for everything that Justin and Trackhouse and Ty Norris, at the time, and a lot of people have done to build this amazing place.

“Lately, it’s been a little bit of a struggle, not just on the track but also off the track in a few things, and right now, we are in a must-win situation. We’re in a must-win situation. The good thing about that is that we have good racetracks [coming] for us.”

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