HAMPTON, Ga. — Ryan Blaney secured his second pole position of the season Saturday evening at Atlanta’s high-speed EchoPark Speedway, leading a Team Penske front-row sweep for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 (7 p.m. ET, TNT, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
With a lap averaging 179.912 mph during Busch Light Pole Qualifying, Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford narrowly edged out teammate Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford by 0.016 seconds. The result marks Blaney’s 14th career pole and Team Penske’s first front-row sweep of the 2026 season, with all three Penske entries dominating the initial round of qualifying.
Blaney, 32, attributed the success to his team’s preparation but emphasized that a front-row start at Atlanta’s drafting-heavy track does not guarantee victory. “It’s about maintaining speed and adaptability once the race begins,” he noted.
Toyota struggled in qualifying, failing to advance any cars to the final round. Championship leader Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing) qualified 28th, while Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing) trailed in 31st despite a strong February win at Atlanta. Gibbs drivers Ty Gibbs (23rd) and Christopher Bell (32nd) followed, alongside 23XI teammates Bubba Wallace (23rd) and Riley Herbst (29th).
Reflecting on Toyota’s strategies, Blaney acknowledged their strengths in race execution: “They’re aggressive in drafting and can push toward the front, but qualifying speed isn’t their strength. We’ll see how they race.”
Chevrolets from Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports) and Austin Dillon (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing) claim Row 2. Row 3 features Daniel Suarez (5th), followed by Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric (8th), Ross Chastain, and Brad Keselowski (6th).
For Joey Logano, 18th in points and outside the playoff contention, the front-row start offers optimism. Despite a challenging season, including a costly crash at Atlanta last fall, Logano expressed confidence in his car’s performance and team’s speedway expertise.
“Qualifying shows we have the pace, but races are different,” Logano said. “Speedways like this can flip quickly, but we’ll capitalize on the draft and fight for a strong result.”
–By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
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