Ryan Blaney Secures Pole at Watkins Glen by a Narrow Margin
In an exciting qualifying session, Ryan Blaney edged out Shane van Gisbergen by just three hundredths of a second, securing the pole position for the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. Blaney, driving the No. 12 Ford, set a time of 1 minute and 11.960 seconds, beating van Gisbergen’s time in the No. 88 Chevrolet, which was 1 minute and 11.993 seconds. This pole position represents a surprise for Blaney, who has had a discreet performance on the 2.45-mile track, with only three top-ten finishes. The 2023 Cup champion seeks to break a streak of 22 races without a top five on road courses.Van Gisbergen, seeking his fourth consecutive victory on road and street circuits, will start from second position, after having won from the pole in Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma.“What a great pole. I’m a pretty average road racer, and I work really hard to improve and try to find ways to be better. We have to find some race pace, but it’s good to have speed on a lap. It’s fun when you can be on the pole in a place where I’m not very good,” Blaney stated.
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe, who achieved the pole in the last two weeks at Iowa Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualified third in the Toyota No. 19. He was followed by Ross Chastain in the Chevrolet No. 1 and Kyle Busch in the Chevrolet No. 8.“It’s incredible how close everything is on a road circuit. My laps were good, and there were probably a few things I could have fixed. A good start for tomorrow,” commented van Gisbergen.
Shane van Gisbergen
