By Staff report | NASCAR.com
Sam Hornish Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award Friday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, setting a track speed record as well.
Hornish Jr. wheeled his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in Lexington, Ohio, at a track record-setting 96.755 mph in the opening session of qualifying. In the second and final session, with a fast lap of 96.374 mph, he sealed the first starting spot in the Mid-Ohio Challenge (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“The fact that we’re here. We’re as good as we have been, really, is hats off to RCR and all the people that work on the Rheem No. 2 car,” the polesitter said post-qualifying. “Right off the bat, this morning I was kind of worried about it being a little bit rusty. It’s been a little while since I’ve been on a road course.”
This marks Hornish’s eighth career pole and first of 2016.
Sharing the front row will be Owen Kelly, a road specialist who reached 95.877 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Ryan Blaney, (95.739 mph in No. 22 Team Penske Ford), Elliott Sadler (95.675 mph, No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) and Daniel Suarez (95.613 mph, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) completed the top five, respectively.
Complete: Results
