Ryan Blaney Takes Top Spot in Watkins Glen Qualifying
Ryan Blaney, in a standout performance, secured the pole position in the Cup Series qualifying at Watkins Glen International. Blaney edged out Shane van Gisbergen by a minimal difference of three hundredths of a second. Blaney clocked a time of 1 minute and 11.960 seconds aboard the number 12 Ford, leaving behind van Gisbergen, who recorded 1 minute and 11.993 seconds in his number 88 Chevrolet. For Blaney, the current Cup champion, getting the pole position at Watkins Glen is a surprise, given that he has only achieved three top 10s at this 2.45-mile circuit. The driver is on a streak of 22 races without finishing in the top five on this type of circuit.Shane van Gisbergen, seeking his fourth consecutive road course victory, will start second after winning from pole in Mexico, Chicago, and Sonoma.What a great pole. I’m a pretty average circuit racer, and I work very 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 one lap. It’s fun when you can start from 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 in Iowa and Indianapolis, qualified third in the number 19 Toyota. He was followed by Ross Chastain with the number 1 Chevrolet and Kyle Busch with the number 8 Chevrolet.It’s incredible how close everything is on a circuit. My laps were good, and there were probably some things I could have fixed. A good start for tomorrow.
Shane van Gisbergen
