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BROOKLYN, MI (August 15, 2014) – Joey Logano earned his seventh front-row starting spot of the year in qualifying for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, qualifying second in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford.  Logano was one of three drivers to break the 206mph barrier in qualifying, turning a lap of 34.887 seconds (206.381mph) around the two-mile oval.

Logano was fast in each of the three rounds of knockout qualifying.   He turned the second-fastest lap in the first round and the third-fastest lap in the second round.  In the final round, Logano missed getting the pole by a mere 0.03-seconds to Jeff Gordon’s lap of 34.857 seconds.

“I’m really happy to have another front row starting spot and a good pit stall for my Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion, but I’m really getting tired of these second-place runs,” said Logano.  “We’ve qualified second six times this year and only have one pole.  And each time, we miss it by just a couple of hundredths or a couple of thousandths.   This team deserves to have three or four poles at this point.  But the good thing is we are getting upset about qualifying second.  There are a lot of guys that would like to be in that position and have seven front row starting spots.  On top of that, we have a really fast Shell-Pennzoil Ford in race trim.  I like our chances this weekend for sure.”

Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, turned in the fifth-fastest time in qualifying with a lap of 35.012 seconds (205.644mph).  Keselowski continues to lead all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers in starting average this season.  And between Logano and Keselowski, the drivers have missed just three total rounds of knockout qualified all year long.

“That was a pretty good lap for our Miller Lite Ford,” said Keselowski.  “We weren’t quite as fast at Joey, but like him, we have a good car in race trim.  Tomorrow is the important day and getting things tuned in for Sunday’s race. That’s what we will turn our attention to now.”

The Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway will air live Sunday, August 17 at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Race coverage will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90.