FORT WORTH, Texas — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Sarah Crabill/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
Carl Edwards collected a brand-new rifle on Friday afternoon, outperforming his competition and coaxing his tires to outlast the abrasive Texas Motor Speedway surface en route to his 17th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole during Coors Light Pole Qualifying.
Edwards led the final two knockout rounds in his No. 19 STANLEY Tools Toyota, but it was his lap of 27.748 seconds (194.609 mph) on his third run that ultimately put him on pole position for the first time in 2016.
“Our plan was just to try to go out first, and it worked out well,” said the Columbia, Missouri native and three-time Texas winner. “I’m assuming Joey [Logano] had a bad lap that forced him to go out and do it again … I know that feeling.”
“I made a little mistake and I thought that was going to cost us, but fortunately, my car is very fast. This is a huge deal for us to get our first pole of the year and I just can’t say enough about the guys. I mean, that car is great. Dave [Rogers] has been working really hard and we’re having a good time.
Edwards will be searching for his first win at the 1.5-mile track since 2008, when he was still with Roush Fenway Racing (RFR), but considers the fast oval one of his favorite race tracks.
“I like it here,” he smiled. “I really enjoy Texas. … Eddie [Gossage] makes this a fun place to race. The tire, for me … I don’t know what the other guys feel so far … but to me, it feels like the tire and this downforce package lets me go into the corner and move the car around and feel the tire underneath me, and even in qualifying. There were times I got a little sideways or slid a little bit and I could recover and that’s really fun for a race car driver. Hopefully, the race goes just as well as qualifying has for us.”
Joining the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran on the front row will be Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who starts second or better in back-to-back weeks. Logano posted a lap of 27.935 seconds (193.306 mph) on his first run in round three, but could not better the lap on his last gasp effort at the end of the five-minute pole dash.
“It was just a last-ditch effort we made there,” remarked Logano, who officially tied the lap set by Martin Truex Jr. and received the nod for the runner-up spot by virtue of car owner points. “It’s funny because we were really good in [Turns] 1 and 2 and that’s where we were beating the 19 … but when I went into there the last time, it didn’t turn like it did last time. We actually fixed [Turns] 3 and 4 to where we were pretty good down there, so we just kind of flip-flopped and we needed both.”
“It’s crazy out there and so much fun in qualifying, but it’s awesome to have another front-row starting spot. I wanted the shotgun to go with the six-shooters I got a couple years ago, but we just didn’t have it. … I think it’s going to be a lot of fun (come race time). It’s going to be a tough 500 miles, though, for sure.”
On the other end of the tie-break, Truex rolls off third for Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) and will be flanked by Chase Elliott (27.974/193.036), who was the highest-qualifying rookie in the 40-car field.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (27.988/192.940) continued his quick start to the 2016 season by rounding out the Fast Five, as one of two RFR entries who advanced through all three knockout rounds.
Denny Hamlin remained as the lone driver to advance to round three in every race this season, qualifying sixth; with rookie Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Austin Dillon, six-time Texas winner Jimmie Johnson and Trevor Bayne making up the balance of the 12 drivers who transferred to the pole round.
Brian Vickers was fastest in round one with a lap of 27.549 seconds (196.014 mph), the fastest clip recorded all weekend, but faded in round two and missed transferring through the second cutoff by a thousandth (0.001) of a second.
As such, Vickers will start 13th in his final scheduled start behind the wheel of the No. 14 Chevrolet as a substitute driver for Tony Stewart.
“I wish it was the old system, because we’d be starting on the pole in that case, but the new format’s great,” Vickers explained. “It’s exciting for the fans. We had a really good car … and we really wanted the pole. I just got really loose down in [Turns] 1 and 2 and I wasn’t expecting that. We made a small air pressure change — maybe that was it or maybe I just missed it, I don’t know — but the car got out from underneath me. I ran the track bar down down the backstretch and I was great in [Turns] 3 and 4, but it was just too little, too late.”
“I know we have a great car going into the race, though, so I’m glad we held onto it and we’ll see what we can do on Saturday night.”
Other notables eliminated in round two included reigning Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch (15th), former Texas winner Dale Earnhardt (16th) and 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick (22nd).
Paul Menard was the best of those sent packing in the first round, missing the cut by 0.003 of a second in the tight qualifying session. He will start 25th, with Ty Dillon’s RCR-affiliated No. 95 Chevrolet for Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing falling in behind him in 30th.
With only 40 drivers in attendance, no one failed to qualify for Saturday night’s race.
Cup drivers will return to the race track for practice at 6:30 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; Coors Light Pole Qualifying; Texas Motor Speedway; April 8, 2016
- Carl Edwards
- Joey Logano
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Chase Elliott
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Blaney
- Brad Keselowski
- Matt Kenseth
- Austin Dillon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Trevor Bayne
- Brian Vickers
- Greg Biffle
- Kyle Busch
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Kasey Kahne
- Jamie McMurray
- Ryan Newman
- Kyle Larson
- Kurt Busch
- Kevin Harvick
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Aric Almirola
- Paul Menard
- Danica Patrick
- Brian Scott
- Regan Smith
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Ty Dillon
- David Ragan
- Casey Mears
- Landon Cassill
- Chris Buescher
- Michael Annett
- Clint Bowyer
- Cole Whitt
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Josh Wise
- Reed Sorenson
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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