Carl Edwards will start on the pole for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International after posting a 1:09.689, 126.562 mph. lap around the 2.45-mile road course. Edwards, a driver from Missouri, will start on the pole for the 20th time in the Sprint Cup Series.
“I wasn’t sure. You know the track is a little strange. It started out really slippery the first run. But, just really proud of my guys and everybody on this Stanley Toyota team,” said Edwards after winning the pole. “Dave Wilson from TRD (Toyota Racing Development, president) just came down. They’re a huge part of this. My teammates they’re really fast. Kyle (Busch) is really fast and Martin’s (Truex Jr.) is really fast. You’ve got to work a little bit in race trim but we’re starting upfront and we’ve got a great pit crew and hopefully we can put that Stanley in victory lane.”
Kyle Larson led most of the qualifying session in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet. Larson ended the final round second fastest with a 1:09.871, 126.233 mph. lap around the New York track. The California driver continues to seek his first win in the Sprint Cup Series and holds 14 top five and 33 top 10 finishes since making his debut back in 2013.
Tony Stewart rounded out the top-three in Sprint Cup Series qualifying. Stewart, who won the last time the series visited a road course in 2016, posted a 1:09.902, 126.177 mph. around the freshly paved facility. Stewart enters the weekend with one victory, three top five and five top 10 finishes.
Joey Logano ended round one as the fastest driver on the speed chart. Logano, who won the pole for today’s XFINITY Series race at Watkins Glen yesterday, will start the Cheez-It 355 in the seventh spot. The young driver enters the weekend looking to capture his second win in 2016.
One of the favorites going into the weekend, AJ Allmendinger, will start the 90-lap event in ninth. The driver of the No. 47 Toyota enters the weekend looking to capture his second Sprint Cup Series win. Allmendinger’s last victory came at Watkins Glen International back in 2014.
No drivers failed to make the race as 40 drivers appeared on the entry list. One red flag came during the first round of knockout qualifying for debris.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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