The Blue Oval has had a slow start to the 2023 Cup Series season, but things might be turning around for the NASCAR Ford teams if qualifying for Atlanta Motor Speedway is any indication. In fact, Ford Mustang racers were fast enough in qualifying to take the first eight starting positions during the session on Saturday, March 18th, 2023.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 NASCAR Ford Mustang, will lead The Blue Oval train, having set the pole position with a time of 31.256 seconds at 177.374 mph. His Penske Racing teammate, Austin Cindric, will start second with a time of 31.262 seconds at 177.34 mph, followed by the third car out of the Penske Racing stable, Ryan Blaney, who got around Atlanta in 31.284 seconds at 177.215 mph. Fourth will be the No. 6 Mustang of Brad Keselowski, followed by the No. 10 Ford of Aric Almirola in fifth, and the No. 4 Mustang of Kevin Harvick in sixth. Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Mustang and Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Mustang will start seventh and eighth respectively.
Even after proving that the No. 22 Mustang had speed in qualifying, polesitter Logano said that he’s not sure what to expect during the actual race.
“Nobody really knows what they have for handling yet, but hopefully we have a little bit of both in this thing and we can control the race,” Logano said. “Obviously, Team Penske had a great day today and we’ll try to continue that tomorrow.”
It’s worth noting that the last time Logano started the No. 22 Mustang from the pole position was a few weeks ago at Vegas, and he ended up finishing the race dead last thanks to an incident early on.
The green flag at Atlanta will drop at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 19th, 2023.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Autotrader Ford | 31.256 | 177.374 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Knauf Ford | 31.262 | 177.34 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | BodyArmor Smart Water Ford | 31.284 | 177.215 | Ford Mustang |
| 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 31.323 | 176.995 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 31.324 | 176.989 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 31.363 | 176.769 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Violet Defense Ford | 31.367 | 176.746 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | 31.396 | 176.583 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 31.462 | 176.213 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | 0 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 11 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 31.544 | 175.755 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Fr8Auctions.com Ford | 31.545 | 175.749 | Ford Mustang |
| 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Andy's Frozen Custard Chevrolet | 31.548 | 175.732 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Shingrix Toyota | 31.554 | 175.699 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 31.554 | 175.699 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Xfinity 10G Network Toyota | 31.574 | 175.588 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Lenovo Chevrolet | 31.583 | 175.537 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Advent Health Chevrolet | 31.597 | 175.46 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | DoorDash Toyota | 31.636 | 175.243 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 20 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 31.642 | 175.21 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 9 | Josh Berry(i) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 31.662 | 175.099 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 31.68 | 175 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Gary Martin Hays Ford | 31.696 | 174.912 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford | 31.801 | 174.334 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 31.835 | 174.148 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 31.835 | 174.148 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Nature Valley Chevrolet | 31.837 | 174.137 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 31.853 | 174.05 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 31.859 | 174.017 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 30 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 31.939 | 173.581 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Celsius Chevrolet | 31.945 | 173.548 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 32.064 | 172.904 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 32.34 | 171.429 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | Barnett Southern Corporation Ford | 32.559 | 170.275 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 34.582 | 160.315 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 36 | 78 | BJ McLeod | B'laster Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
What is wrong with Harrison Burton? Has a Penske car and each week they are so slow.
Should have kept DiBenedetto…