NASCAR Watkins Glen: AJ Allmendinger takes another road course pole
AJ Allmendinger made it two pole positions from the two road course events on the NASCAR Sprint Cup calendar after dominating qualifying at Watkins Glen
The JTG Daugherty Racing driver, who also claimed pole at Sonoma in June, had set the pace in the first round of qualifying by 0.229 seconds from Kevin Harvick.
Allmendinger, whose only Sprint Cup win so far came at Watkins Glen last year, then hit the front in the second round as the only driver to go below 1m09s, posting a time of 1m08.993s.
Martin Truex Jr was the closest driver to him, 0.146s behind, while Tony Stewart maintained his recent strong qualifying form to take third, and Harvick was forced to settle for fourth.
Jeff Gordon was fifth ahead of Kyle Larson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kyle Busch, who started a run of four wins in five races with victory at Sonoma, managed eighth.
Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski were next up, while Justin Allgaier was the last of those who made it through to the second round as he secured a best-yet grid position of 12th.
There were a number of big-name drivers who missed out on progressing from the first round, with 2015 race winners Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano occupying the first four places outside of the top 12.
STARTING GRID
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 1m08.993s |
| 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 0.146s |
| 3 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 0.194s |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 0.229s |
| 5 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.357s |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0.484s |
| 7 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.504s |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0.528s |
| 9 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.550s |
| 10 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0.572s |
| 11 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 0.945s |
| 12 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1.018s |
| 13 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0.551s |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 0.571s |
| 15 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0.633s |
| 16 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 0.670s |
| 17 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0.678s |
| 18 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 0.684s |
| 19 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 0.712s |
| 20 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0.737s |
| 21 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 0.956s |
| 22 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 0.969s |
| 23 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.985s |
| 24 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 1.010s |
| 25 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1.050s |
| 26 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1.068s |
| 27 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 1.091s |
| 28 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1.129s |
| 29 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 1.132s |
| 30 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1.221s |
| 31 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 1.245s |
| 32 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1.313s |
| 33 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1.445s |
| 34 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1.712s |
| 35 | Alex Kennedy | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 1.785s |
| 36 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.097s |
| 37 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2.121s |
| 38 | Boris Said | Go FAS Racing | Chevrolet | 2.164s |
| 39 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 2.174s |
| 40 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.227s |
| 41 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 2.579s |
| 42 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 2.898s |
| 43 | Timmy Hill | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet | 3.751s |
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