David Ragan continued to be hot in the month of July by winning Saturday’s qualifying session for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson held the provisional pole for most of the session until Ragan, who was 44th in the 48-driver field to make his qualifying run, posted a lap at 182.994 mph around the famed 2.5-mile oval for his second career Sprint Cup Series pole. His first one came in April at Texas Motor Speedway.
“We knew we would have a shot at the pole,” Ragan said. “I just tried not to overdrive. So many guys got into [turn] one a little too hot or maybe picked up the throttle a little too hard, so I tried to be a little conservative. It paid off.” Los Angeles Times
That’s left him well-positioned to make his first Chase for the Sprint Cup appearance via a new wild-card berth based on wins. Ragan, 25, is in his fifth full season in NASCAR’s premier series but has yet to finish in the top 10 in the standings.
This would be an opportune season to do it, considering it’s a contract year for UPS. With teammate Carl Edwards also mulling whether to re-sign, keeping UPS would be a needed boost for Roush.
Ragan says the pole shows he and his “are for real.”
“We’re working as hard as we ever have,” Ragan said. “It’s finally just showing. We’ve always had a lot of confidence in our team. The last couple years we’ve really underperformed. That has not been a secret.” USA Today
Kasey Kahne made his qualifying run after Ragan and jumped in front of Johnson with a lap at 182.927 mph in a Toyota from Red Bull Racing.
“We just have to be there at the end,” Kahne said. “It seems that’s how this race is won, being up front at the end. You’re not just going to pass five, six cars. When you get to turn one, you’ve got to be one of those top couple of cars more times than not.”
Johnson, the five-time defending series champion, fell to third. His lap of 182.801 mph in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had led the qualifying session until the late runs by Ragan and Kahne. He wasn’t upset though, and knows his past success at Indy will come into play on Sunday.
“This track is clearly unique and we don’t race on anything else like it,” Johnson said. “When you get it right, you have an advantage.”
Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski qualified fourth and fifth in their Dodges for Sunday’s race, and the drivers have already heard from team owner Roger Penske on what they’ll need to do to win.
AJ Allmendinger, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and series points leader Carl Edwards rounded out the top 10. The Associated Press
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis - Race Line-Up
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