Ryan Blaney has once again demonstrated his qualifying prowess, securing his second pole position of the season at the high-banked EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. This stellar performance also heralded a complete front-row lockout for Team Penske, with teammate Joey Logano claiming the second spot for the upcoming Quaker State 400. This achievement underscores Blaney's consistent speed and the collective strength of the Penske racing stable, setting an anticipatory tone for the highly anticipated race.
On Saturday evening, Blaney's No. 12 Team Penske Ford recorded an exceptional lap speed of 179.912 mph at the 1.5-mile track. This was just marginally quicker than Joey Logano's No. 22 Ford, with a mere 0.016-second difference separating the two during the Busch Light Pole Qualifying. For the 32-year-old Blaney, this triumph marks his 14th career pole and the first instance this year where Team Penske has swept the front row. All three Penske vehicles, including Austin Cindric in the No. 2 Ford, who qualified eighth, advanced to the second round of qualifying, showcasing their commanding form from the outset.
Blaney, known for his composed demeanor, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, attributing the success to his team's diligent efforts. However, the reigning 2023 series champion was quick to emphasize that at a high-speed, drafting-centric track like Atlanta, a pole position doesn't automatically guarantee a victory. Meanwhile, Toyota, despite enjoying a dominant season in terms of race wins, surprisingly failed to place any of its cars in the final qualifying round. Denny Hamlin, the current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader, will start 28th, while Tyler Reddick, who secured a win at Atlanta earlier this year, will begin from 31st. Other notable Toyota drivers, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell, qualified 23rd and 32nd, respectively, with 23XI teammates Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst starting 23rd and 29th.
Blaney acknowledged Toyota's qualifying struggles at speedways, suggesting that their car's design might enable them to be more aggressive in the draft during the race. He recalled Toyota's strong performance in the spring race at Atlanta and expressed hope that his team's race setup would be sufficient to either maintain the lead or recover if they fall behind. The second row will feature Chevrolets driven by Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon. Daniel Suarez will start fifth, followed by Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman and defending race winner Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, and Brad Keselowski, completing the top ten starters.
The front-row start holds particular significance for the three-time series champion, Joey Logano, who is currently experiencing one of the most challenging seasons of his illustrious career. He is presently ranked 18th, just 16 points shy of Erik Jones, who holds the final spot in the top 16 field that will compete for the title. Logano, a two-time Atlanta winner, conveyed confidence in his Hunt Brothers Pizza Mustang's speed, believing that qualifying performance often translates into race-day pace. He acknowledged the unpredictable nature of speedway racing but expressed optimism regarding his team's ability to handle such tracks, emphasizing that having speed is half the battle.
