LONG POND, Pa. — Joey Logano heard the rumors at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Carl Edwards, the biggest free agent in NASCAR, was being pursued to sign a lucrative deal with JGR. And if Edwards signed, he’d poach Logano’s ride in the No. 20 Toyota and the coveted Home Depot sponsorship.
Logano couldn’t do anything about the negotiations. All he could do was drive.
Edwards stayed with Roush Fenway Racing, and Logano appears secure in his car.
Pushed by the public contract talks, Logano responded with his best finishes of the season and kept rolling at Pocono Raceway, turning a lap of 172.055 mph Saturday to win his second pole of the year. The 21-year-old driver became the youngest pole winner at Pocono. It was his third career pole in Sprint Cup.
Logano said he never talked to owner Joe Gibbs or team president J.D. Gibbs about his future at JGR, one of the top organizations in NASCAR.
“As far as I knew they were just rumors,” Logano said. “What am I really going to ask him?”
Kasey Kahne joins Logano on the front row for today’s race. Martin Truex Jr., Edwards and Kurt Busch round out the top five. Busch won the pole at Pocono in June.
Dixon on IndyCar pole
LEXINGTON, Ohio — There’s something about Mid-Ohio — and odd years on the calendar — that bring out the best in Scott Dixon.
The winner at Mid-Ohio in 2007 and 2009, Dixon had the fastest qualifying time to take the pole for today’s IndyCar race at the road course.
Ryan Briscoe will start No. 2 on the grid, with defending champion and points leader Dario Franchitti third. Will Power is fourth, Ryan Hunter-Reay fifth and local favorite Graham Rahal sixth.
Footnotes.
Carl Edwards literally pushed Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to victory in the Nationwide race in a wild finish at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
• Antron Brown raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in top fuel at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash. Tim Wilkerson (funny car) and Greg Anderson (pro stock) also will lead their categories into today’s eliminations.
• Rain halted the NASCAR Trucks Series event at Pocono Raceway after 17 laps, with racing scheduled to resume today before the Sprint Cup event.
The Associated Press
