Logano wins pole as many former champions aren't allowed to qualify
HAMPTON, Ga. - Former series champions Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were among a group of 13 that weren't allowed to qualify Friday for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
All were delayed in the inspection process and weren't cleared until after a 30-minute first round session was complete.
By not participating in the first round, all they could do was watch Joey Logano win the pole position. He ran a quick lap of 194.683 mph in the third and final round.
Forty-seven cars were entered in Sunday's race. All went through inspection before practicing early Friday afternoon. Thirty-two of the 47, however, had issues getting approval before qualifying. Nineteen of them managed to make corrections in time to run during the first round. Thirteen did not.
"This is absolutely embarrassing," Gordon said. "The race fans deserve an apology. It's a big letdown for me and our series right now."
NASCAR's new inspection process was simplified to reduce the amount of time teams have to stand in line. If the car is out of skew by as little as one-thousandth of an inch, they must go to the back of the line.
Gordon, Stewart, Johnson, Kenseth, Regan Smith, Cole Whitt, Alex Bowman, Landon Cassill and Jeb Burton failed to get through inspection and all will use car owner points from last season to make the race as provisional exemptions.
Mike Wallace, Michael Annett, Matt Dibenedetto and Reed Sorenson also were stuck in inspection and will miss the race.
Logano's car failed during his first pass through tech inspection, but his Penske Racing team got things worked out and he was on the track with just a couple minutes remaining in the session.
"I'm sure we've learned from the experience and we're going to change something," Logano said. "Obviously, this is not acceptable. I'm sure we'll make the right decisions moving forward to make sure it doesn't happen again, but it is scary."
Many drivers blamed NASCAR's inspection process, not their cars.
Obviously, they weren't organized enough to get everybody through tech it appears, so I don't know," Kenseth said. "We've got all the people up there to watch qualifying and they don't really get top watch everybody qualify, so it's kind of confusing and disappointing for sure."
NASCAR Sprint Cup director Richard Buck said every team was given a chance to get through inspection at least once. He said most cars failed because of the camber - teams often tilt the bottom of the wheels out to gain traction in the turns - in in the rear.
In fact, NASCAR delayed the start of first round qualifying by nearly 20 minutes.
That still wasn't enough time for some.
Without the 20-minute extension, Logano said he wouldn't have beaten the clock to post a speed.
The final 13 cars in line didn't make it.
"We went through twice. When you have this many cars not go, it's not on them [the race teams]," Gordon said.
Since most measurements are done with lasers, inspection time has been reduced by one hour this year. That may have caught some teams by surprise.
"There is something wrong, or there is something wrong with the system, or there is something wrong with the amount of time they allot to get through," Gordon said. "There is no way this many good cars, talented people that they can't figure out how to get these cars through inspection. These guys are too smart.
"Yes we are pushing limits, but there is something wrong here."
Kevin Harvick finished second in qualifying. Logano and Harvick finished one-two a week ago at the season-opening race at the Daytona International Speedway.
Jamie McMurray qualified third, followed by Denny Hamlin in fourth, Carl Edwards in fifth, Kyle Larson in sixth, Ryan Newman in seventh, Sam Hornish Jr. in eighth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in ninth and Kasey Kahne in 10th.
The confusion during inspection was only part of the bizarre day at Atlanta.
Travis Kvapil's race car was stolen from a hotel parking lot early Friday and his Team Xtreme Racing team was forced to withdraw.
Also, a fan's SUV rolled down a hill and collided with Denny Hamlin's motorcoach in the infield. Nobody was injured.
***
Sprint Cup
What: Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway
On the air: Fox
***
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Lineup
After Friday qualifying; race Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
Lap length: 1.54 miles
122Joey LoganoF194.683
24Kevin HarvickC193.792
31Jamie McMurrayC193.623
411Denny HamlinT193.4
519Carl EdwardsT193.137
642Kyle LarsonC192.949
731Ryan NewmanC192.942
89Sam Hornish Jr.F192.313
988Dale Earnhardt Jr.C192.206
105Kasey KahneC192.14
1147AJ AllmendingerC191.483
122Brad KeselowskiF191.403
1327Paul MenardC192.326
1478Martin Truex Jr.C192.313
153Austin DillonC192.146
1651Justin AllgaierC192.033
1718David RaganT191.496
1810Danica PatrickC191.291
1916Greg BiffleF190.935
2017Ricky Stenhouse Jr.F190.692
2113Casey MearsC190.653
2255Brett MoffittT190.646
2343Aric AlmirolaF190.424
2495Michael McDowellF189.558
2515Clint BowyerT189.513
2638David GillilandF189.493
2732Mike BlissF189.351
2834Joe NemechekF189.183
296Trevor BayneF188.906
3023J.J. YeleyT188.187
3162Brendan GaughanC188.117
3233Brian ScottC187.837
3398Josh WiseF183.881
3430Ron Hornaday Jr.C181.147
3524Jeff GordonCPoints
3620Matt KensethTPoints
3748Jimmie JohnsonCPoints
3841Regan SmithCPoints
3914Tony StewartCPoints
4026Jeb BurtonTPoints
4135Cole WhittFPoints
427Alex BowmanCPoints
4340Landon CassillCPoints
Failed to Qualify
4466Mike Wallace, Chevrolet.
4583Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota.
4646Michael Annett, Chevrolet.
4729Reed Sorenson, Toyota.
