JOPLIN, Mo. – Joey Logano captured the pole for Saturday’s Axalta 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway. Logano broke the previous track record in round two, and then broke his own track record from round two in the final round. He posted a time of 26.627 seconds, 135.201 mph. The 24-year old captured his 28th career XFINITY Series pole on Saturday.
Kevin Harvick will roll from the second starting spot after a time of 26.718 seconds, 134.741 mph. The Axalta 200 will be Harvick’s second start of the season in the XFINITY Series. The last time out, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick started eighth to score his 29th career victory in the series. The California native was 0.091 seconds away from scoring his 26th pole in the series.
Making his seventh career NASCAR XFINITY Series start, Erik Jones will start the race from the third position. Jones posted a time of 26.729 seconds, 134.685 mph. as he fills in for Kyle Busch this weekend. He is in a solid ride this weekend because Busch took the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota to victory lane last season. Jones has a pair of wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports at the one-mile oval.
A total of 41 drivers showed up to race. With room for only 40 cars, Morgan Shepherd will be going home.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.