Logano saved his best for last as he posted the fastest average lap speed of the day (186.053 mph) for the final round of qualifying. All three Penske drivers qualified in the top nine.
The pole is the first of the 2023 season for Logano and his No. 22 Ford team and the 27th of his career.
“This is a good car,” Logano said. “In practice I noticed it was pretty good and in qualifying I told Paul (Wolfe, crew chief), ‘We have a heck of piece here.’ It’s just a really fast car.
“Hopefully, the speed translates over to the race. But the No. 1 pit stall is always nice. As you get toward the end of these races, you want to get up there. We’ll see if we can transfer it to another win.”
Logano has three wins at Las Vegas, including the most recent race last fall, which helped propel him in the playoffs toward his second series championship.
“The gusts are what make it very hard. If it’s a steady, sustained wind at least you know it’s coming,” he said. “It’s the gusts out of nowhere that blows you up the race track or slides you around quite a bit.
“It’s something we’re going to have to deal with but it’s fairly typical for Vegas. It’s always sketchy. I’m sure tomorrow will be the same way.”
William Byron ended up second (185.153 mph) and Ryan Blaney was third (184.900 mph). Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 starters are Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell, who had the fastest speed in Round 1.
Heavy winds Saturday around the track wreaked havoc during the final round of qualifying. There is also a wind warning in effect for Sunday’s race as well.
Group B
Bell posted the fastest lap of the day at the time to lead Group B qualifying in Round 1 (185.065 mph).
Cindric ended up second (184.647 mph) and Keselowski third (184.527 mph). Also advancing to the final round were Gibbs and Chastain.
Among those who failed to advance were last year’s race winner, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace.
Group A
Logano set a blistering pace in the first group with an average lap speed of 184.716 mph – the fastest lap of the weekend at the time.
Byron ended up second (184.131 mph) and Busch was third (183.949 mph).
Also moving on to the final round were Larson and Blaney.
Among those who failed to advance were Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher.
B.J McLeod, Tyler Reddick and
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