Kyle Busch claims pole position for I Love New York 355 at Watkins Glen with a speed of 126.925. This Kyle Busch’s third consecutive Monster Energy Cup Series pole.
Kyle Larson will start second with a speed of 126.249 with Martin Truex Jr. in third coming in at 125.763. Chase Elliot who led the first round of qualifying ended up in fourth overall with a speed of 125.584. Rookie of the Year contenders Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones came in the fifth and sixth positions with speeds of 125.453 mph for Suarez and 125.437 mph for Jones.
AJ Allmendinger, a favorite at road courses has struggled all weekend but rebound in qualifying coming in seventh with a speed of 125.368 mph. Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer failed to set a time in the final round with both having brake issues.
Shockingly, normal contenders Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch all failed to make it into the top 12 to go for pole. Ryan Blaney also a favorite most weeks failed to reach the second round of qualifying.
Drivers you wouldn’t normally see towards the front showed their speed in qualifying specifically Micahel McDowell. McDowell driving for the Levine Family Racing team set a speed of 124.876 getting him into the fourteenth position for the race. Afterward, McDowell would put blame on himself for not making it into the top 12 due to an error that cost him time through the interloop section of the track. Chris Buescher also showed speed coming in the seventeenth spot for his JTG Daughtery Racing team. His road course speed has improved since joining the team with help from his veteran teammate AJ Allmendinger.
Boris Said making his last Monter Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualified in the thirty-fifth position. His effort comes afters damaging his car in practice through an error made in the bus stop.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to struggle this weekend ending up in the twentieth position with a speed of 123.457
Image Credit – Getty Images – NASCAR – Jared Tilton
