Toyota driver Logano wins pole for Toyota race

Joey Logano captured the second Sprint Cup pole of his career and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Logano took the top starting spot with a speed of 93.256 mph around the 1.99-mile road course. His only previous pole in 91 Cup starts came in March 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Jamie McMurray (93.223 mph) will start on the outside of the front row in Sunday’s race, the first of two road-course events this season.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 1st

Did you expect to get a qualifying result like this?

"No, no, no. I was surprised it was as fast as it was. I felt like the car had a lot more grip in it, and I felt like we fixed the car, but personally I felt like I screwed up about three times in one lap. I didn't feel too good about myself after it and I thought I screwed that one up. It was good, car was fast. We'll work on our stuff in race trim a little bit more tomorrow and see if we can get our Home Depot car fast. This is place is so -- you can have a fast race car here and it doesn't mean a whole bunch here. Obviously your strategy is going to be a big deal and I think the real big deal is staying out of trouble, which is where I need to work on the most than anywhere else."

What have you done to prepare for this weekend's race?

"We've done a lot of things. These road courses for me have been a struggle in trying to get in the corners is probably the biggest thing. So, we went to Road Atlanta and tested with Max Papis. We had a little two-seater car and he gave me a ride and I was like, 'Wow, you can get in the corner a lot harder.' It's cool to see that and learn -- think that is definitely paying off right now. Thanks to Max on that one. My Home Depot car is fast. I was really surprised about the speed in it. I didn't feel like our car was that good in practice at all. The car was a lot better. I'll take it for sure."

Are you excited to get your second career pole award?

"It's really awesome, for sure. This is the last place that I figured we'd get a pole. I think obviously if you're looking at -- I've never had a top-10 start here and I've never finished that good here either. After practice, I felt like we needed a lot more forward drive and a lot more side-bite in our car. Man, they made it happen. I said, 'Geeze, should have asked for that a long time ago.' They definitely did a good job of making our Home Depot car fast. I was surprised, I felt like my lap was okay, didn't feel like it was stellar by no means. Man, a hell of a lap. The last three cars were Kasey (Kahne) who got the pole last year, and Denny (Hamlin), our teammate is really good here, and Kurt (Busch) that was four-tenths faster than everyone else in practice and has gotten the last three poles. Man, I didn't know -- I didn't think it was going to hold up -- I don't think of my guys thought it was going to hold up. We were pretty pumped up right now, we needed a momentum change with our Home Depot team right now. We've been going through a little bit of a drought. This is definitely going to help us a lot."

Will racing the K&N Pro Series West race tomorrow set you up for a good race on Sunday?

"It is an advantage for sure. I run a lot of Nationwide races the day before because I think it helps. I think here is a bit bigger help just because there's so many more turns and getting used to it. The cars drive so different, you can't compare the two. You're looking at a lot lighter car over there. Lower, a lot less horsepower -- all that stuff makes a huge different. The tire over there -- that's probably the biggest difference. That car there is a lot of fun to drive. All that makes it cool. I have a lot of fun doing that. I do think it helps. The first time I came out here, I ran the West race and I ran pretty good in the Cup race. Last year I didn't run so good in the Cup race and this year I am and I got the pole. Hopefully it's all good and working out for me. Hey, if that's what it takes, I'll run that thing every weekend -- they're fun to race anyway. Last time I ran here I got dumped in turn 11 for the win on the last lap, so I need to redeem myself."

How will being out front benefit you in Sunday's race?

"I don't know, I've never been up front here before. That's a question I'm going to answer Sunday. I think right now I need to figure out where I'm going to start -- on the inside or the outside and kind of think about that. Watching the previous race here, just looking at where those guys started and stuff like that -- I'll try to make the best decision I can. It's a long race, hopefully we do get out front by the end of turn two there and try to put some distance on them and lead some laps. Right now we're focused on tomorrow and getting our car the best we can so we can do that."

Results

1. Joey Logano, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota
2. Jamie McMurray, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet
3. Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet
4. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota
5. Ryan Newman, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 39 Chevrolet
6. Kasey Kahne, Red Bull Racing No. 4 Toyota
7. AJ Allmendinger, Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford
8. Marcos Ambrose, Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Ford
9. Clint Bowyer, Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet
10. Brian Vickers, Red Bull Racing No. 83 Toyota
11. Kurt Busch, Penske Racing No. 22 Dodge
12. Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet
13. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet
14. Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip Racing No. 56 Toyota
15. Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing No. 2 Dodge
16. Mark Martin, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet
17. Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet
18. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet
19. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota
20. Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet
21. Bobby Labonte, JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Toyota
22. Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford
23. Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing No. 99 Ford
24. Regan Smith, Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Chevrolet
25. Jeff Burton, Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet
26. Kevin Harvick, Richard Childress Racing No. 29 Chevrolet
27. Casey Mears, Germain Racing No. 13 Toyota
28. Robby Gordon, Robby Gordon Motorsports No. 7 Dodge
29. David Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford
30. Boris Said, Phoenix Racing No. 51 Chevrolet
31. Joe Nemechek, Nemco Motorsports No. 87 Toyota
32. David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip Racing No. 00 Toyota
33. Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford
34. David Ragan, Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford
35. PJ Jones, Robby Gordon Motorsports No. 77 Dodge
36. Dave Blaney, Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 36 Chevrolet
37. Mike Skinner, Germain Racing No. 60 Toyota
38. David Mayhew, HP Racing No. 66 Toyota
39. Terry Labonte, FAS Lane Racing No. 32 Ford
40. Brian Simo, Whitney Motorsports No. 81 Ford
41. Andy Lally, TRG Motorsports No. 71 Ford
42. Chris Cook, Front Row Motorsports No. 37 Ford
43. Andy Pilgrim, Whitney Motorsports No. 46 Chevrolet

Did Not Qualify: Tony Ave, Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Ford