CP MOTORSPORTS - ALMENDINGER STRAIGHTENS OUT ROAD COURSE EN ROUTE TO POLE POSITION
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Navigating a heavy stock car around the twists and turns of a road course is a difficult process, unless you're A.J. Allmendinger.
Then you make it look like a Sunday drive.
Allmendinger won the pole for Sunday's Cheez-It 355 at The Glen by laying down a lap of 68.993 seconds at 127.839 mph. The pole marks the second time Allmendinger will start from the lead in Sprint Cup competitionthis season; both on road courses.
Allmendinger, who won this race at Watkins Glen last season, downplays the importance of winning the pole at a road course race.
ìWe can lead to Turn 1 at least," Allmendinger said. "Iím just proud of all my guys; I was frustrated yesterday and I probably wasnít helping. I was overdriving trying to get more than what we there and I didnít do a good job yesterday. They saved me. They gave me a good race car. So, going into tomorrow, I feel happy with what weíve got. But, weíll see. Itís a tough race. This Kroger/Bushís Beans Chevy is going to be fast and hopefully weíll be reliving last year.î
Allmendinger understands the challenges road course races present.
ìEverybody is so close. Itís tough to pass. You start beating and banging on each other," Allmendinger explained. "Your fenders get torn up here and you canít have that. Itís very aerodynamic-dependent. Itís a good start. Strategy plays a lot in this race; fuel mileage and everything. I canít thank everybody at ECR enough for giving me the horsepower.
"I donít know if Iíll sleep any better tonight, or not; but Iíll be ready for tomorrow.î
Martin Truex, Jr, who won a road course race at Sonoma back in 2013, laid down a lap of 69.139 seconds and 127.569 mph putting him beside Allmendinger on the front row of Sunday's race.
Tony Stewart's five wins at Watkins Glen are the most of any driver in Sunday's field of 43. Stewart's lap of 69.187 seconds and 127.481 mph gave him the third starting spot.
Stewart has not won a race in Sprint Cup competition since 2013.
Kevin Harvick, who won at Watkins Glen in 2006, will start in the fourth spot followed by Jeff Gordon in fifth place.
Kyle Larson will roll off the starting grid in sixth place with Dale Earnhardt, Jr, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon rounding out the top ten.
T.J. Bell was the only driver who failed to qualify for Sunday's race.
Starting Line Up by Row
Watkins Glen International
30th Annual Cheez-It 355 at The Glen
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, August 08, 2015 @ 02:35 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Mark Martin 08/13/95 02:11:54 103.03
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Bush's Beans Chevrolet 68.993 127.839
2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 69.139 127.569
Row 2: 3 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 69.187 127.481
4 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet 69.222 127.416
Row 3: 5 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet 69.350 127.181
6 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 69.477 126.948
Row 4: 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet 69.497 126.912
8 18 Kyle Busch M&M Crispy Toyota 69.521 126.868
Row 5: 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 69.543 126.828
10 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet 69.565 126.788
Row 6: 11 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite/Luke Bryan Ford 69.938 126.112
12 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 70.011 125.980
Row 7: 13 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 69.544 126.826
14 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 69.564 126.790
Row 8: 15 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 69.626 126.677
16 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 69.663 126.610
Row 9: 17 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet 69.671 126.595
18 15 Clint Bowyer Maxwell House Toyota 69.677 126.584
Row 10: 19 55 David Ragan Aaron's Dream Machine Online Version 69.705 126.533
20 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 69.730 126.488
Row 11: 21 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 69.949 126.092
22 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 69.962 126.068
Row 12: 23 5 Kasey Kahne Time Warner Cable Chevrolet 69.978 126.040
24 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford 70.003 125.995
Row 13: 25 16 Greg Biffle Cheez-It Ford 70.043 125.923
26 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 70.061 125.890
Row 14: 27 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Burger King/Cosmo Motors Toyota 70.084 125.849
28 27 Paul Menard Libman/Menards Chevrolet 70.122 125.781
Row 15: 29 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 70.125 125.775
30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford EcoBoost Ford 70.214 125.616
Row 16: 31 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Radio Ford 70.238 125.573
32 34 Chris Buescher(i) Bully Hill Vineyards Ford 70.306 125.452
Row 17: 33 35 Cole Whitt Tweaker Energy Shots Ford 70.438 125.217
34 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 70.705 124.744
Row 18: 35 33 Alex Kennedy # Dream Factory Chevrolet 70.778 124.615
36 40 Landon Cassill(i) Hillman Automotive & Tire Chevrolet 71.090 124.068
Row 19: 37 38 David Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford Owner Points
38 32 Boris Said(i) Genesee Brewing Company Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 20: 39 7 Alex Bowman TBR Chevrolet Owner Points
40 46 Michael Annett Switch Hitch Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 21: 41 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Toyota Owner Points
42 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota Owner Points
Row 22: 43 98 Timmy Hill(i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet Owner Points
Did Not Qualify: # 62 TJ Bell(i).
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 23 1 Toyota 9 0
Ford 11 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series