Ryan Blaney Wins at Watkins Glen Qualifying
Ryan Blaney showcased his skill on the track by securing the pole position in the Cup Series qualifying at Watkins Glen International. Blaney edged out Shane van Gisbergen by a narrow margin of three hundredths of a second. Blaney, driving the number 12 Ford, completed a lap in 1 minute and 11.960 seconds, leaving behind van Gisbergen, who recorded 1 minute and 11.993 seconds with his number 88 Chevrolet. This achievement represents a surprise for Blaney, who has only three top-ten finishes on the 2.45-mile circuit. The 2023 Cup champion seeks to break a streak of 22 races without finishing in the top five on road courses.For his part, Van Gisbergen, who was aiming for his fourth consecutive victory on road circuits, will start from second position after having won from the pole in Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma.“What a great pole,” commented Blaney, who secured the 150th pole position for Team Penske. “I’m a pretty average road racer, and I work really hard to improve and try to find ways to be better. We need to find some race pace, but it’s good to have speed on one 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 secured the pole position in the previous two weeks at Iowa Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualified third with 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 amazing how close everything is on a road course,” said van Gisbergen. “My laps were good, and there were probably a few things I could have fixed. A good start for tomorrow.”
Shane van Gisbergen
