Fastest in Friday’s opening practice session, Kyle Busch was the final of 46 cars to make a qualifying run and after his lap shot to the top of the speed charts.
Knocking AJ Allmendinger from the top spot, Busch scored his first pole of the season and the first of his career at Watkins Glen. In doing so, he also shattered the previous track record with his lap of 69.767 seconds at 126.421 mph. A total of 15 drivers broke the previous record set by Jeff Gordon in 2003.
“It’s cool to come out here and get a pole,” Busch said. “Joey (Logano) got it in Sonoma, we got it here, so JGR swept the poles this year on the road courses. Hopefully we can get a win here Sunday. We won here before, we certainly want to win here again.” SB Nation
Allmendinger will start second after a lap at 126.041 mph, followed by Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose (125.984 mph). Jimmie Johnson (125.663 mph) claimed the fourth starting position, and Juan Montoya (125.654 mph), last year’s race winner, will start fifth in the 22nd Sprint Cup race of the season.
Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, series points leader Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and Regan Smith will start from positions six through 10, respectively. NASCAR.com
POS CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 2 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 3 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 7 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 8 99 Carl Edwards Ford 9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 10 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 11 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 12 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 13 20 Joey Logano Toyota 14 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 15 51 Boris Said Chevrolet 16 6 David Ragan Ford 17 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 18 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 19 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 20 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 21 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 22 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 23 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 26 13 Casey Mears Toyota 27 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 28 16 Greg Biffle Ford 29 37 Scott Speed Ford 30 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 31 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 32 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 33 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 34 150 T.J. Bell* Chevrolet 35 32 Andrew Ranger Ford 36 71 Andy Lally* Ford 37 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 38 36 Ron Fellows Chevrolet 39 0 David Reutimann Toyota 40 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 41 34 David Gilliland Ford 42 11 Denny Hamlin+ Toyota 43 38 Terry Labonte Ford
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