Logano blazes to Kobalt 400 pole

If drivers keep going this fast, NASCAR will make the Kobalt 400 a restrictor-plate race.

Well, maybe the organization won’t go to that extreme, but Friday’s qualifying sessions made the Las Vegas Motor Speedway track record more of a joke than home run marks during baseball’s steroid era.

All 24 drivers who moved on from the first segment broke Kasey Kahne’s record of 190.456 mph set two years ago. Joey Logano went 193.278 in the third and final segment to set a new standard and win the pole for the Sprint Cup race.

With Brad Keselowski finishing second at 193.099 mph, Team Penske claimed the top two spots. This also was the second consecutive week the two drivers won both front-row positions, with Keselowski taking the pole and Logano claiming second last week at Phoenix.

“They’re two completely different racetracks,” said Logano, who drives the No. 22 Ford. “This just shows the guys have been working it.”

NASCAR changed its qualifying format before the season, going from a one-car-at-a-time system to one that more closely resembles race-like conditions with a track full of drivers. The 1½-mile LVMS was the first to use three segments; tracks shorter than 1¼ miles use two.

Las Vegans Kurt and Kyle Busch made it through the first qualifying segment, but didn’t get out of the second. Kyle Busch will start 20th in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and brother Kurt Busch will begin 23rd in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Kurt Busch had his racing line taken away by AJ Allmendinger on the final lap of the second segment, and let him know he didn’t appreciate being cut off by driving near Allmendinger when the session ended.

Defending race champion Matt Kenseth failed to advance past the first segment, and his No. 20 Gibbs Toyota will open 29th.

“I was depressed last week not making (the top) 12; this week, I couldn’t make 24,” Kenseth said. “It was really bad. I’ve got to figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

Any driver who wanted a shot at the pole not only had to go fast, but blow away the track record because NASCAR’s rule changes regarding the aerodynamic package made everyone faster.

“It’s just simple physics,” said Keselowski, who drives the No. 2 Ford. “The cars make 300 to 400 pounds more down force. The engine manufacturers continue to find more horsepower, so they’re going to go faster.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with the (qualifying) format. In fact, if it wasn’t for this format, they’d be even faster than what they are.”

The new qualifying format was mostly popular with drivers, and apparently with fans, with a crowd of about 25,000 turning out, noticeably higher than on previous Las Vegas qualifying days.

But drivers also would like to see some changes. In an effort to cool cars to get the most out of them on later laps, racers coasted around the track at about 60 mph below the apron while others trying to make their top times flew by.

Keselowski and Tony Stewart got closer to each other than either would have preferred, as did Logano and Marcos Ambrose. Clint Bowyer, who qualified third driving the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, nearly collided with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I about smoked him,” Bowyer said. “That’s one guy you don’t want to hit at a 100-mph deficit, a 140-mph deficit. It’s going to hurt me. It might hurt Dale Jr. That would be bad for business.”

Logano, though, said NASCAR shouldn’t rush to make adjustments.

“I think we need to maybe go through a few qualifying sessions to understand the pros and cons of what we need to do to make it safer, to make it more enjoyable for fans,” Logano said. “I think it’s way cooler than the old-style qualifying.

“So much more goes into qualifying. To me, it feels like it’s even more special to get a pole because a lot more work goes into it.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.