Joey Logano seems well on course to win his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race in wine country. The Team Penske driver is starting the Sonoma race from pole position and will be looking to log the first win of the regular season this Sunday. The Team Penske driver’s record at the track consists of four top 5 finishes at the venue.
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What makes Logano a strong contender is the recent resurfacing of the track. With the new asphalt laid down, the track has become slick and cars are faster by seconds than last year. Passing is going to be an issue and track position will hold the key. Starting up front in clean air, Logano will have to hold on to the lead for as long as possible and run towards the front even if he chooses to bank stage points to turn what has been a haphazard season for the 2022 champion.
Adding another signature to the #NASCAR Pole Award banner@Team_Penske @AutoTrader_com @FordPerformance #Mustang @CocaColaRacing #CokePartner pic.twitter.com/FhZmopPSZY
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) June 8, 2024
The #22 Ford Mustang driver has already impressed fans by taking pole position ahead of a road course specialist in Tyler Reddick but keeping him behind will require some defending. Logano came closest to winning at Sonoma the last time the Cup Series was here as he finished P3. The other time he came as close was 2016 when he had the same result.
While the two-time Cup Series champion caught the attention of fans with his qualifying run, a lot of the attention was also on the men from down under.
Where did Australian Supercars drivers Cam Waters & Will Brown qualify?
Will Brown and Cam Waters made their debut in the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday with the former taking the bragging rights in qualifying. Driving the #33 Richard Childress Racing car, Brown was able to be good enough for P24, a decent result considering that this was his first attempt at qualifying in the Next-Gen car.
On the other hand, Waters might be slightly disappointed. He is a part of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Stage 60 project and he qualified P31 for the race on Sunday. They might be low starting positions but the Supercars racers’ extensive knowledge of racing on road courses will definitely play to their advantage when the time comes.
It remains to be seen how the 2024 Toyota/Save Mart 350 pans out after much has been said of the resurfaced track. The event goes live this Sunday at 3:30 pm ET.
