Ryan Blaney claimed the 21 Means 21 Pole Award, his first career Nationwide Series pole, for Sunday’s Get To Know Newton 250 presented by Sherwin Williams at Iowa Speedway. Each race of the 2014 Nationwide Series season has seen a new polesitter and Blaney continues the progression by becoming the 10th different pole winner in 10 races.
In the final round of knockout qualifying Saturday evening, Blaney posted the fastest time with a lap speed of 23.148 seconds at 136.081 mph in his No. 22 Discount Tire Ford. He bested Sam Hornish Jr. who will start on the outside pole and Michael McDowell who qualified in third place.
Blaney had little time to prepare for his qualifying run. He was in Charlotte Friday night for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race where he was involved in a wreck, resulting in a disheartening 22nd place finish.
“It’s been a busy 24 hours,” Blaney said. He also thanked his team saying they “did a great job of getting everything ready for me to just come, to jump in the car, and have it close to where we need it to be.”
After winning the pole, Blaney spoke with the media about how confident he feels at this track.
“Being that I got my first NASCAR win in the Truck Series in 2012 here, it definitely makes it special. I actually got my first start for Penske in that 22 car here in 2012. So this place holds a lot of value to me and I really like it,” he said. He went on to say that he hopes to “get a Nationwide win to add to that truck win here.”
Regan Smith will start the race in fourth place followed by Dylan Kwasniewski. Series points leader, Chase Elliott, will begin the race in the sixth position. Elliott has one K&N Pro Series East win at Iowa in 2012 and was quickest in two of the practice sessions on Friday.
Brian Scott, Elliott Sadler, Landon Cassill and Brendan Gaughan will start in positions seventh through 10th, respectively.
Coverage for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Get to Know Newton 250 presented by Sherwin Williams will begin at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN.
Complete Starting Lineup:
1. (22) Ryan Blaney
2. (54) Sam Hornish Jr.
3. (20) Michael McDowell
4. (7) Regan Smith
5. (42) Dylan Kwasniewski
6. (9) Chase Elliott
7. (2) Brian Scott
8. (11) Elliott Sadler
9. (01) Landon Cassill
10. (62) Brendan Gaughan
11. (60) Chris Buescher
12. (31) Chase Pistone
13. (3) Ty Dillon
14. (99) James Buescher
15. (16) Ryan Reed
16. (6) Trevor Bayne
17. (5) Austin Theriault
18. (39) Ryan Sieg
19. (19) Mike Bliss
20. (84) Chad Boat
21. (33) Cale Conley
22. (43) Dakoda Armstrong
23. (98) Ryan Gifford
24. (28) J.J. Yeley
25. (4) Jeffrey Earnhardt
26. (10) Jeff Green
27. (44) Hal Martin
28. (51) Jeremy Clements
29. (52) Joey Gase
30. (40) Matt DiBenedetto
31. (17) Tanner Berryhill
32. (14) Eric McClure
33. (70) Derrike Cope
34. (76) Tommy Joe Martins
35. (93) Carl Long
36. (87) Tim Schendel
37. (23) Carlos Contreras
38. (55) Caleb Roark
39. (46) Ryan Ellis
40. (74) Mike Harmon
