Jeff Gordon shattered the previous track record this afternoon at the Michigan International Speedway during qualifying for the Pure Michigan 400. Gordon captured his 76th career pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series after running a fast time of 34.857 seconds, 206.558 mph. He sat in the sixth-position in the first round but was able to lead the final two rounds of qualifying. It was certainly a punching match all afternoon long between drivers gunning for the pole.
Starting inside the second spot on Sunday will be Joey Logano after running a time of 34.887 seconds, 206.381 mph. Logano was certainly one of the top contenders, and also the fan favorite to win the pole, but fell short by just 0.030 seconds. Sunday will mark the 18th time that the 24-year-old has started from inside the top-10 this year. Logano will go into the Pure Michigan 400 hoping to capture his third win of the year.
Carl Edwards, who was fastest in the first of three rounds this afternoon, will start from the third spot. Edwards posted his fast time of 34.932 seconds, 206.115 mph. This will mark the eighth time this season that Edwards has started an event from inside the top-10. The No. 99 team, and the entire Roush-Fenway Racing organization, has been mighty fast this weekend despite not all being there this year.
Several drivers, such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, has been off the pace all day today in Michigan. Both drivers will start the race from positions 25 and 30. Denny Hamlin, which also didn’t have a great day, will roll off Sunday from the 24th spot. Martin Truex Jr’s sub driver, Matt Crafton, qualified the No. 78 car in the 39th spot. Crafton certainly did not get what he was expecting out of the car.
There was no on-track incidents during the three rounds of qualifying. Because only 43 cars showed up to race, nobody went home following the event.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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