Logano will make Cup debut

Chase qualifying is rained out

Rain washed out NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for the second straight week. This time, though, Joey Logano gets to race.

A week ago at Richmond, the rainout left the 18-year-old phenom out of the lineup and frustrated because he was entered in a fourth Joe Gibbs Racing car that had no owner points. This week, Logano is entered in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing entry, 39th in the owners points.

That gave Logano a guaranteed starting spot in the 43-car field for Sunday's Sylvania 300 at Loudon, N.H.

"It's nice to be in the 96 now and at least be in the race," he said Friday, minutes after NASCAR officially canceled time trials. "Obviously, if we came back here with the 02, we'd have been going home again. Thank goodness we're not."

Although there is a lot of excitement about Logano getting his first shot at racing in Cup, most of the focus this week is centered on the start of the 10-race Chase for the championship.

The 12-man field for Sunday's race was set by points, meaning all of them will be up front for the start. Series leader Kyle Busch will start from the pole, with runner-up Carl Edwards alongside and two-time reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson, winner of two straight races, and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. in row two.

The most anticipated newcomer since Jeff Gordon began his Cup career in 1992, Logano had to wait until he turned 18 in May to run his first Nationwide event. Since then he has raced 12 times, with two poles, one victory and nine top-10 finishes.

HORNADAY WON'T BE PUNISHED: NASCAR is expected to soon complete a tougher drug policy, but the new language would not likely change how the sanctioning body handled Ron Hornaday's admission to using testosterone.

Hornaday told ESPN The Magazine this week that he used a testosterone cream in 2004 and 2005 to treat a medical issue. NASCAR met with the reigning Truck Series champion Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway and found no reason to punish him for the admission.

Hornaday also revealed he has Grave's disease, a condition he is now treating with Synthroid, which replaces a hormone normally produced by the thyroid gland to regulate the body's energy and metabolism.

"We don't see where Ron did anything wrong," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. "Our substance abuse experts have told us the prescription Ron Hornaday used did not enhance his performance or impair his judgment. It is our understanding Ron had a very serious health issue, which is continuing to be addressed."

NHRA CAROLINAS NATIONALS: Larry Dixon capped the first day of qualifying at zMax Dragway in Concord with a 3.846-second run at 310.20 mph to claim the provisional No. 1 qualifying position in the Top Fuel division.

The other provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the first race in the six-race in the NHRA Playoff, the Countdown to 1, were Frank Hawley (Funny Car), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

FORMULA ONE: Kimi Raikkonen led Friday's practice for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, after thunderstorms had threatened to wash out the event.

Raikkonen lapped the damp 3.6-mile circuit in a fastest time of 1 minute, 23.861 seconds to edge BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica by 0.07 seconds.

Ferrari announced earlier Friday that it had signed the defending Formula One champion to a one-year extension that ties him to the Italian team through 2010.

EXTREME RACERS AT THE ROCK: Qualifying starts at noon and racing at 2 p.m. today in the American Drag Racing League's Hushpower Dragstock V at Rockingham Dragway. A jet car demonstration and fireworks cap the day.

The event features the sport's popular Pro Modified racers. Last year, Jason Scruggs of Saltillo, Miss., in a replica 1963 Corvette, became the first to accelerate from zero to 200 mph in an eighth-mile course without using nitromethane fuel. That set ADRL records of 3.703 seconds and 205.47 mph.

Adult tickets cost $20, and ages 6-12 get in for $5. Call (910) 582-3400 or visit www.rockinghamdragway.com.