WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — A year ago at Watkins Glen, Ryan Blaney didn’t complete a lap. Sunday, he could lead the opening lap after winning the pole at the 2.45-mile road course.
Blaney earned his second pole of the Cup season and will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s race — coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network — with a lap of 122.568 mph.
Shane van Gisbergen, who has won the past three Cup road course events, qualified second with a lap of 122.512 mph. He had won the pole for the past three road course races.
Chase Briscoe (122.505 mph) will start third, followed by Ross Chastain (122.362) and Kyle Busch (122.255).
Last year at Watkins Glen was miserable for Blaney, who struggled in practice and qualifying and was collected in a first-lap crash that ended his race.
“We worked really hard at this place because it was a rough weekend last year,” Blaney said. “The two days were brutal. Everyone’s confidence was pretty down leaving it.”
Chris Buescher seeks his second consecutive win at Watkins Glen, while Shane van Gisbergen goes for his fourth win in a row on a street or road course.
Last year’s woes made preparing for this weekend challenging.
“We didn’t have any race notes to talk about,” Blaney said. “… that was a little bit difficult. So we just really looked at practice and where we struggled at in practice.”
Also Saturday, points leader William Byron (122.135 mph) will start 10th. Chris Buescher, who won this race a year ago and enters this weekend holding the final playoff spot, will start 12th after a lap of 122.051 mph.