Blaney Shocks in Watkins Glen Qualifying, Securing Pole Position
In an exciting qualifying session at Watkins Glen International, Ryan Blaney edged out Shane van Gisbergen by a minimal difference of three hundredths of a second, securing the pole position for the Cup Series race. Blaney, driving the No. 12 Ford, recorded a time of 1 minute, 11.960 seconds, surpassing van Gisbergen’s No. 88 Chevrolet, who clocked 1 minute, 11.993 seconds. Securing the first position on the starting grid for Sunday’s race, which will consist of 110 laps, is a surprise for Blaney. The 2023 Cup champion, despite having only three top 10 finishes at this 2.45-mile circuit, achieved an outstanding performance.Van Gisbergen, seeking his fourth consecutive victory on street or road circuits, will start second after having won from pole in Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma.What a great pole! I’m a pretty average circuit 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 nice 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.
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe, who had achieved the pole in the last two weeks at Iowa Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualified third with the No. 19 Toyota. Ross Chastain with his No. 1 Chevrolet and Kyle Busch with the No. 8 Chevrolet complete the top five positions.It’s amazing how close everything is on a road course. My laps were good, and there are probably some things I could have fixed. A good start for tomorrow.
Shane van Gisbergen
