NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. >> Joey Logano has won 30 poles during in his Cup Series career.

This one meant something extra to him.

Logano will start up front for the NASCAR All-Star race after turning a lap of 1:29.75 on Saturday during qualifying at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The remainder of the field for the All-Star Race will be determined later Saturday following two separate 60-lap heats at the .625-mile track.

Logano won’t have to worry about how he fares in his heat after winning his first pole.

“It’s a very special pole, maybe the most special pole I’ve ever had because it’s a great example of how hard everybody works and I’m proud of that,” Logano said. It’s a lot of work that goes into the minute-and-a-half out there.”

William Byron, one of the final drivers on the track, appeared to beat Logano’s time, but was assessed a 10-second penalty for speeding on pit road during the stop.

Logano, driver of the No. 22 Ford, turned the top lap even though his pit crew only had the fifth-fastest stop, which means he made up significant time on the track.

But Logano called it a team win and a “momentum booster.”

“This qualifying session is the most fun session of the year,” Logano said. “And it really takes the whole team. The car has to go fast. We have to execute getting onto pit road, the spotter has to do a good job of getting everyone on the same page and the pit crew has to do their part, and then it’s back on to the track (to finish). So it really takes every crew member.”

Christopher Bell’s team won the pit crew challenge for the second straight year and the No. 20 Toyota team will have its choice of the top pit stall for the $1 million race on Sunday night.

Bell’s pit crew earned $100,000 for winning the pit crew challenge.

“What can you say about these guys, it’s two in a row,” Bell said as his crew celebrated around him. “They have been awesome and I’m incredibly happy for them. It’s an honor to be their driver.”

Twenty drivers will participate in the All-Star race, 17 of which have already earned their way in through past accomplishments. The top two finishers from Sunday’s preliminary Open race and the winner of the fan vote will also be advance into the All-Star Race.

As part of the pit crew challenge, drivers took the green flag, ran one full lap at speed, and on the second lap proceeded to one of two NASCAR designated pit stalls for a four-tire stop with mock fuel delivery. Then the cars exited pit road and raced back to the checkered flag. The qualifying time was determined by the total elapsed time from green flag to checkered flag.

Verstappen breaks Senna’s record

On a weekend commemorating Ayrton Senna, Max Verstappen matched the late Brazilian’s record for consecutive pole positions in Formula 1 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Verstappen made it eight in a row — seven this year — when his Red Bull topped qualifying on Saturday, just ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Miami GP winner Lando Norris.

However, Piastri was later penalized three grid places for impeding Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in Q1 and dropped to fifth, promoting Norris to the front row of the grid.

Verstappen’s streak dates to the last race of last season, drawing the three-time defending champion level with Senna on eight consecutive pole positions.

“It’s 30 years since he passed away, so it is very special, and I am very pleased to get pole, and in a way it’s a nice memory to him,” Verstappen said.

“He was an incredible F1 driver, especially in qualifying. A great day for me, a great day for the team. I’m very, very happy.”

Senna’s record has stood for 35 years. His streak ran from the final three races of the 1988 season through the first five of the following year.

Senna died in a crash at Imola during the 1994 race and there was a memorial on Thursday, while there have also been other events at the track to mark the 30-year anniversary of the death of the three-time world champion.

Verstappen looked unlikely to match his record when he struggled during all three practices — with his best position fifth in the second session.

However, no one could match his blistering pace in qualifying — although it was closer than it has been recently. Piastri was just 0.074 seconds behind, with Norris only 0.091 adrift.

“I honestly went into qualifying and I was like, ‘Well, if we can get a top five, I would be happy,’ because this weekend has been really difficult,” Verstappen said. “There was really no reference going into qualifying.

“But, yeah, it felt straight away a lot better. I felt more comfortable. I could attack corners finally a bit more and it all started to come together, and it really came together in Q3.”

There was disappointment for Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, however, as he surprisingly didn’t make it out of Q2.

“What a mess,” Perez said, after finishing 11th.

It had been a good weekend for Ferrari as it appeared to have raised its game in front of its home crowd but Charles Leclerc could qualify only fourth, just ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. They will line up on the second row of the grid following Piastri’s penalty.

Future Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was eighth, two spots below his Mercedes teammate George Russell, and sandwiched between RB duo Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo.

Fernando Alonso will start in penultimate position following an unusually scrappy day. Even qualifying appeared in doubt after he crashed out of the final practice and sustained significant damage to the rear of his machine.

Only Logan Sargeant will line up behind Alonso after the Williams driver’s best time was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Qualifying was run under dry conditions with similar weather expected on Sunday.

Verstappen leads the F1 standings with 136 points, 33 clear of Perez and 38 clear of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.