Day of Records: Kyle Busch Takes Sprint Cup Pole at The Glen
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[/media-credit]Kyle Busch took pole position for tomorrow’s (or Tuesday’s) 26th Annual Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen in commanding style. After the two Richard Petty Motorsports drivers, Marcos Ambrose and A.J. Allmendinger decided to lay down laps fast enough to take the pole (for the time) Kyle Busch, who qualified last because of his first practice speed, decided to add to the drama that was Sprint Cup qualifying here at The Glen.
The #43 car of A.J. Allmendinger became the first Sprint Cup car to break the 70-second mark in qualifying around the 2.45-mile short course here at Watkins Glen International with his lap time of 1:09.997.
Not to be outdone, Kyle Busch’s lap of 1:09.767, the fastest qualifying speed ever here at The Glen, was good enough to take pole position for the 220-mile race slated to go tomorrow at 1PM. His pole here at Watkins Glen marks his 8th of his career, and the first for him this season. Also with the pole today, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have taken both pole positions this season at the two road courses after Joey Logano took the pole earlier this season at Infineon Raceway.
Busch’s lap time was just a hair off of where Marcos Ambrose’s fast lap was yesterday in Final Practice. Ambrose ran a lap just one-tenth quicker than Busch’s qualifying lap today. Ambrose will start just behind Busch in third tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see how fast he will make a charge to the front following the green-flag around 1PM.
Stay tuned for more here from The Glen…
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, Watkins Glen International | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=22 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 126.421 | 69.767 |
| 2 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | 126.041 | 69.977 |
| 3 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 125.984 | 70.009 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 125.662 | 70.188 |
| 5 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 125.654 | 70.193 |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 125.314 | 70.383 |
| 7 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 125.238 | 70.426 |
| 8 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 125.202 | 70.446 |
| 9 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 124.968 | 70.578 |
| 10 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 124.94 | 70.594 |
| 11 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | 124.915 | 70.608 |
| 12 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 124.908 | 70.612 |
| 13 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 124.904 | 70.614 |
| 14 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 124.791 | 70.678 |
| 15 | 51 | Boris Said | Chevrolet | 124.701 | 70.729 |
| 16 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 124.55 | 70.815 |
| 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 124.451 | 70.871 |
| 18 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | 123.998 | 71.13 |
| 19 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 123.854 | 71.213 |
| 20 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 123.682 | 71.312 |
| 21 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 123.663 | 71.323 |
| 22 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 123.635 | 71.339 |
| 23 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 123.517 | 71.407 |
| 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 123.507 | 71.413 |
| 25 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 123.476 | 71.431 |
| 26 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | 123.455 | 71.443 |
| 27 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 123.436 | 71.454 |
| 28 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 123.433 | 71.456 |
| 29 | 37 | Scott Speed | Ford | 123.379 | 71.487 |
| 30 | 55 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | 123.283 | 71.543 |
| 31 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | 123.176 | 71.605 |
| 32 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 122.956 | 71.733 |
| 33 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 122.956 | 71.733 |
| 34 | 150 | T.J. Bell* | Chevrolet | 122.928 | 71.749 |
| 35 | 32 | Andrew Ranger | Ford | 122.372 | 72.075 |
| 36 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Ford | 122.196 | 72.179 |
| 37 | 60 | Mike Skinner | Toyota | 122.13 | 72.218 |
| 38 | 36 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet | 121.993 | 72.299 |
| 39 | 0 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 121.66 | 72.497 |
| 40 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 121.419 | 72.641 |
| 41 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | 120.339 | 73.293 |
| 42 | 11 | Denny Hamlin+ | Toyota | – | – |
| 43 | 38 | Terry Labonte | Ford | Champion’s Provisional | 0 |
Kurt Busch Snags Pole For NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Zippo 200
It will be an all Busch front row today for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 this afternoon. Kurt Busch, filling in for a sore Brad Keselowski, was 4th quick in the only practice session yesterday for the Nationwide cars, but broke the track record in NASCAR Nationwide Series.
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[/media-credit]qualifying here at Watkins Glen International this morning.
Busch’s speed of 123.241 was good enough to take the top starting spot for this afternoon’s Zippo 200 here at The Glen. The previous track record has only held up for one year as Macos Ambrose set fast lap last year in his NASCAR Nationwide Series Car with a speed of 122.410.
The top three qualifiers for this year’s Zippo 200 all were faster that Ambrose’s qualifying lap last year. The Busch brothers claimed the front row, with Carl Edwards starting third this afternoon.
The rest of the top 10 are Elliot Sadler 4th, road course specialist Ron Fellows in 5th, Jimme Johnson driving for JR Motorsports in 6th, Paul Menard in 7th, Joey Logano in 8th, Jason Leffler in 9th, and James Buescher in 19th. Points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr will start 12th.
Stay tuned throughout the day for more live updates from The Glen including, Sprint Cup Qualifying and Zippo 200 results!
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Zippo 200 at the Glen, Watkins Glen International | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=23 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 123.241 | 71.567 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 122.97 | 71.725 |
| 3 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 122.628 | 71.925 |
| 4 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 122.354 | 72.086 |
| 5 | 5 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet | 122.288 | 72.125 |
| 6 | 7 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 122.183 | 72.187 |
| 7 | 33 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 121.85 | 72.384 |
| 8 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 121.426 | 72.637 |
| 9 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Chevrolet | 121.391 | 72.658 |
| 10 | 30 | James Buescher | Chevrolet | 121.305 | 72.709 |
| 11 | 16 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 120.9 | 72.953 |
| 12 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 120.665 | 73.095 |
| 13 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 120.619 | 73.123 |
| 14 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Toyota | 120.599 | 73.135 |
| 15 | 32 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 120.263 | 73.339 |
| 16 | 11 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 119.956 | 73.527 |
| 17 | 88 | Aric Almirola | Chevrolet | 119.684 | 73.694 |
| 18 | 9 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 119.682 | 73.695 |
| 19 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 119.519 | 73.796 |
| 20 | 153 | Andrew Ranger | Dodge | 119.511 | 73.901 |
| 21 | 167 | J.R. Fitzpatrick | Ford | 119.502 | 73.806 |
| 22 | 21 | Tim George Jr. | Chevrolet | 118.95 | 74.149 |
| 23 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | 118.922 | 74.166 |
| 24 | 39 | Casey Roderick | Ford | 118.905 | 74.177 |
| 25 | 23 | Alex Kennedy | Chevrolet | 118.603 | 74.366 |
| 26 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 118.536 | 74.408 |
| 27 | 62 | Michael Annett | Toyota | 118.526 | 74.414 |
| 28 | 164 | Jason Bowles | Toyota | 118.396 | 74.496 |
| 29 | 113 | T.J. Bell | Dodge | 118.105 | 74.679 |
| 30 | 182 | J.J. Yeley | Dodge | 117.992 | 74.751 |
| 31 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 117.941 | 74.783 |
| 32 | 15 | Timmy Hill* | Ford | 117.905 | 74.806 |
| 33 | 97 | Kyle Kelley | Chevrolet | 117.617 | 74.989 |
| 34 | 175 | Chris Cook | Ford | 117.594 | 75.004 |
| 35 | 14 | Eric McClure | Chevrolet | 117.429 | 75.109 |
| 36 | 49 | Mark Green | Chevrolet | 116.984 | 75.395 |
| 37 | 81 | Blake Koch* | Dodge | 116.8 | 75.514 |
| 38 | 52 | Dan Clarke | Chevrolet | 116.362 | 75.798 |
| 39 | 40 | Josh Wise+ | Chevrolet | 113.934 | 77.413 |
| 40 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd+ | Chevrolet | 113.277 | 77.862 |
| 41 | 70 | Dennis Setzer+ | Dodge | 110.733 | 79.651 |
| 42 | 28 | Derrike Cope+ | Chevrolet | – | – |
| 43 | 44 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | 116.787 | 75.522 |
Clint Bowyer Still Positive About Chase Chances Despite Crazy Luck
Clint Bowyer still has a shot at making the Chase for the Sprint Cup but for him to do so he needs to find consistency. And not the bad kind that he says has been following him around lately.
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[/media-credit]“That’s obviously the goal,” said Bowyer of making the Chase, “but just keep having crazy things happen. Had another good run going in Pocono last week and the radiator tab broke and the radiator fell out of the thing. I mean it’s just one crazy thing after another.”
Bowyer sits 12th in points, just outside the top 10 who guaranteed a spot in NASCAR’s postseason. He’s not safe in 11th or 12th, however, because of NASCAR’s new wildcard format, where drivers with victories who sit 11-20 in points would consist of the final two Chase spots.
Bowyer doesn’t have a win and therefore would be out of the Chase had it started this weekend. Luckily it doesn’t and there’s five more races ahead for Bowyer and his team to make a turnaround and either find victory lane for climb their way into Chase contention.
This weekend the series is in Watkins Glen for the second and final road course race of the season. Bowyer has never won a road course and has been on the wrong side of the chart at The Glen with his best finish being a ninth in 2009. It’s his only top 10 at the track where he’s finished 14th or worse in four of his five career starts there and he has yet to lead a lap.
Even so, Bowyer enters the weekend with confidence.
“Hopefully we can get a good run here,” Bowyer said on Friday. “We haven’t had a ton of luck here, broke a truck arm out of the car last year. I feel like this is the track where we can capitalize. This is the track out of any of these ones ahead of us that you can stand to gain or lose a lot of ground but you’ve got to look at this as an opportunity and try to gain as much ground as possible.”
Early this season it looked like Bowyer was going to have plenty of opportunities to gain ground in the Chase. He finished second in back-to-back weeks at Texas and Talladega where he nearly beat Jimmie Johnson to the finish line. Entering June Bowyer had led 253 laps and had seven top 10 finishes and two top fives.
Since then his No. 33 Cheerios team has been trying to dig themselves out of a hole. Bowyer has led just nine laps and his top 10 and top five finishes have only increased by one. Yet, he still only sits 41 points behind 10th place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Any gap is hard to overcome especially when you start getting up in that elite crowd,” Bowyer said. “The further up you go the harder it is to pass them. You just have to be able to capitalize on somebody’s mishap and that’s what it’s going to come down to. These teams are too good and things are too close in this sport right now to just overcome a huge spread in a short amount of time unless you have some help.”
According to Bowyer, Watkins Glen is the perfect track to be able to do that. Some consider it to be a wildcard of its own and that if a driver doesn’t take advantage of it then they’ll soon start feeling that time is quickly running out to make a Chase charge. No longer are there room for bad days and certainly not for Bowyer.
Behind him in points are three drivers with wins and one driver, Brad Keselowski, has two wins. It was aggressive strategy says Bowyer, which gave Keselowski his second win last weekend in Pocono. And whether it’s through strategy or moves on the track, aggression is something a driver will be fighting with over the next five weeks as they try to put themselves in Chase position.
“You just got to be careful,” said Bowyer. “You have to be careful but you have to be aggressive all at the same time. You got to be aggressive enough to make passes, to make bold passes but you’ve got to be careful enough to not dig yourself in a deeper hole than you are already in.The No. 2 car [Keselowski] winning that race last week was a pretty aggressive move.”
Bowyer thought the race at Pocono was over when it started raining and Joey Logano was leading. In fact, he said that most everyone thought it was over and the drivers headed back to their motorhomes. But, thank God for Keselowski as Bowyer said, it wasn’t and the Penske team was presented an opportunity they made the best of.
“Those are the aggressive calls you’ve got to take,” said Bowyer. “The hindsight of all of that would have been devastating for him and may have been the very move that kept him out of the top 20. It’s a gamble that you’ve got to be willing to take.”
Bowyer says his team have made those calls too but starting this weekend in Watkins Glen they’re hoping they start working out better than they have.
Tim Richmond; 22 Years Later and Still Not Forgotten
Every 10-30 years, a young driver comes along who shakes up the NASCAR world, and more time than naught, it’s usually these types of drivers that come into the sport with some kind of a racing background.
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[/media-credit]Tim Richmond was a lot different since he did not grow up with racing in his blood, and did not come from the hard working middle class lifestyle that most of NASCAR’s big names came from. Instead Richmond was born into wealth, and because of this, it would later turn out to be one of his biggest drawbacks because of his fast paced, Hollywood playboy lifestyle he lived throughout his racing career.
Since NASCAR was born on the back country roads of some of America’s most famous moon shining families, Richmond’s flamboyant lifestyle on and off the track clashed with the southern roots most fans were used seeing from their drivers.
Richmond’s standard of living along with his daily routine mirrored that of someone you would have thought was born and raised in California, unlike his hometown of Ashland, Ohio where he was born on June 7, 1955. The “lets party all night attitude” he chose to live by would be frowned upon by NASCAR, as Richmond would find out later during his short lived racing career.
Richmond was a hit with the fans as well as the ladies, and at times he would pull down his racing suit to sign autographs, which really got the women excited, but at the same time got the heads of NASCAR even angrier. NASCAR wasn’t ready for this type of driver to enter into their hallowed premier racing series, and it was only because Richmond’s driving style matched the lifestyle that he was living.
During his eight years as a Winston Cup driver which didn’t start until the age of 21, Richmond visited victory lane 13 times, along with 78 top-10 finishes in the 185 starts hr made in the series. Richmond collected a career-high seven wins in 1986 while driving the No. 25 Folgers-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo, to go along with his 14 careers poles, and his very first victory coming on a road course in Riverside, California.
The 1986 season would be his best year driving in the Winston Cup series, finishing third in points behind eventual cup winner Dale Earnhardt Sr. Most of his fellow racers said that he was one of a few drivers who had guts enough to challenge Earnhardt and drive side by side with him. Richmond had a “take no prisoners” type of driving style which showed in the way he handled the road courses, and he was known as one of the few drivers who had the guts to challenge and race side by side with Earnhardt.
Richmond’s life was loosely portrayed in the movie Days of Thunder by the character of Cole Trickle, and aside from stock cars he also competed in open wheel racing finishing ninth in the 1980 Indianapolis 500. In 1986 at the height of a very promising career, his whole world came crashing down on him when he was diagnosed with A.I.D.S.
By the time 1987 rolled around, life would become even more challenging to his already troubled life, and it wasn’t until the middle of the season that he would return, and pick up back to back wins at Pocono and Riverside, and the win at Riverside would ultimately be his last. By the following year, NASCAR would step in and deal Richmond a very sour hand, when the organization would begin to treat him like he was some sort of drug addict.
NASCAR defamed his integrity by making him take a drug test because of his deteriorating health, and afterwards suspending him indefinitely because they said he had tested positive for a controlled substance.
Richmond demanded another test, and when those results came back…they were negative. NASCAR would later admit the first test that Richmond took was also negative; the only substance that showed up was Sudafed and Advil. Little by little NASCAR tried to not only defame Richmond, but they also wanted him out of the Cup series for good, and eventually they got their wish.
NASCAR would not let him race until he came up with all of his medical records, it was then Richmond filed a defamation of character lawsuit, but he would eventually withdraw it and leave the sport. Richmond would move back to Florida where he eventually died in 1989.
NASCAR to this day has not apologized for the brash and disrespectful way that Richmond was treated. In 1990, The New York Times reported that Dr. Forest Tennant, who was at that time the National Football League’s drug adviser, “falsified drug tests” that ultimately helped shorten Richmond’s NASCAR career.
Washington television station WJLA-TV, in early 1990, reported the sealed court documents and interviews showed Tennant and NASCAR, “allegedly used false drug-test results in 1988 to bar Richmond from racing.”
Reporter Roberta Baskin stated that NASCAR had targeted Richmond, requesting that Tennant establish a substance-abuse policy with Richmond in mind. NASCAR chose not to mention any of these findings, and basically swept it under the rug with the, “We don’t see anything or what did we do wrong scenario?”
Richmond was one of their own, even though he didn’t fit the mold that NASCAR wants all of their drivers to follow, even though he was still a human being, breathing the same air as them, and also bringing money into their prestigious racing empire. Richmond would be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002, an award that not even the France family could ever take from him.
NASCAR would put the final nail in his coffin by only writing one line about him, and not including a single picture of him anywhere in the annals of NASCAR history. For those who chose to support and follow his career…Tim Richmond has been dearly missed, maybe not so much by NASCAR, but by the fans and drivers who stood next to him through thick and thin.
22 years ago we lost one of our own, but even today he is still in the hearts and minds of those who remember the impact he made to the sport, both on and off the track.
Matty’s Picks: Straight From The Glen Vol. 13 – Watkins Glen – August 14, 2011
[/media-credit]Its time to make some right turns for the second and final time of the 2011 Sprint Cup Season. As many of you know, Watkins Glen International is my home-track, so this edition of Matty’s Picks will be coming to you straight from The Glen!
I look forward to the race weekend at Watkins Glen for 362 days each year. 2011 will mark my 16th consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at WGI. I get the pleasure of seeing it all each year at The Glen, partly due to the fact that my family arrives at the crack of dawn on Wednesday in an effort to set up the monstrosity that we call home for five days every August in the Gate 7 camping area.
21-ish friends, family members, and a few random strangers will call our Gate 7 campsite home this year – including SpeedwayMedia.com Editor, Ed Coombs. I don’t know if it’s the 11 high-speed left and right turns that make up the short course at Watkins Glen International, or if it’s the 2AM nude foot races, the annual Porta-Potty roast, or the extreme downhill cooler races that bring 200,000+ race fans back to The Glen each year.
I must say that I am very excited for this weekend’s on-track racing action, but I really look forward to the unique camping atmosphere that Watkins Glen International has to offer year in and year out.
For those of you not familiar with WGI, it has been considered by many in the racing world to be ‘The Mecca of American Road Racing’. 11 turns (7 rights – 4 lefts) make up the 2.45-mile short course that both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series choose to utilize at The Glen. In sticking with traditional road course layouts, the racing at Watkins Glen International is run in a clockwise pattern (like Infineon), opposite the flow of the traditional counter-clockwise flow of oval races.
One element that is unique only to The Glen is the direction the drivers enter their pit stalls. Because pit road lies outside the track at Infineon, Watkins Glen is the only stop on the circuit where drivers enter their pit stalls from the crew’s left. Preparations for pit stops at WGI start months in advance due to the fact that the entire pit stop is essentially in reverse. This weekend’s stops will not be the fastest stops for crews this season, but efficiency on Pit Road often plays a major factor in the outcome of the race each year at WGI.
Pocono Recap
Well, I don’t have too much on how my two picks from last week ran at Pocono because quite honestly I fell asleep after the first 10 laps or so. When the rain cleared and the dust settled last Sunday, I improved on my 19th place Winner Pick finish dating back to the first race at Pocono this year.
With the news of both Sprint Cup races at PIR being shortened to 400 miles, 40 percent of my wish for the Tricky Triangle has come true. NASCAR has eliminated 200 of the 1000 miles of racing at Pocono starting in 2012, 40% of the 500 miles I would like to see removed from the schedule. I think one race for the Sprint Cup Series at Pocono is enough to keep most race fans satisfied for a year.
My Dark Horse pick last week at Pocono was Greg Biffle because of his less than impressive average finish of 16.4. From what I saw last week, Biffle never really had the car to beat but lingered around the Top 10 for the majority of the 200 laps last weekend. I was asleep for his penalty for changing lanes before the Start/Finish Line. Biffle would remain on the lead lap but would restart in the 35th position.
Biffle made up ground on the field throughout an 80 lap caution-free stretch following the penalty. Biffle would restart the race in 14th following the rain delay, and would make the call of the day to stay out on the final caution flag on lap 179. The call would put Biffle in 7th for the final 16 lap run, only being passed by his teammate Carl Edwards on much fresher tires in the closing laps. The Biff would eventually bring the 3M/811 Ford Fusion home in 8th, netting me a Top 10 Dark Horse pick.
By now, everyone knows where my Winner Pick finished last week at Pocono. His 3rd place finish has been overshadowed by the racing incident that occurred in the final laps of the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, and the altercation that ensued.
Kurt Busch led the race 4 times last Sunday for a total of 38 laps en route to his 3rd place finish. His (and my) Top 5 was in jeopardy on the final lap last week following his contact with Jimmie Johnson at the exit of the tunnel turn on lap 199. The two came together twice on the final lap, ALMOST ruining a good day for both teams.
Following the race, Johnson didn’t even let Kurt Busch out of his car before giving him an ear full about the incident. Busch had this to say about the contact: “ Hey, he came off the turn and did a jab to my left; I did a jab back to the right. Why can’t we race each other like this and put on show for the fans and not have a problem with it? I don’t know” Needless to say, I don’t think the two will be exchanging Christmas Cards this December, but when the dust settled, I got a Top 5 for a Winner Pick.
Watkins Glen Picks
Winner Pick
In the words of Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose was “Screaming Fast” in final practice today at The Glen. Shattering the 70-second mark around the 2.45-mile short course, Ambrose laid down a lap that was over a full second quicker than the previous track record held by Jeff Gordon. His lap time of 69.666 seconds or 126.604MPH was good enough to claim the top of the leader board in Final Practice today.
I don’t know how anyone could bet against this guy at Watkins Glen International. In his 3 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Ambrose has netted two 3rd-place finishes, and a runner-up finish. It is almost destiny for him to bring home the checkered flag, Sunday afternoon (or Monday or Tuesday). He has won the past 3 NASCAR Nationwide Series races here at The Glen, and if it weren’t for the fact that he’s not running the race tomorrow, I would bet the farm on him to sweep the weekend here at WGI.
Ambrose has the car to beat this weekend…he’s going to win.
Dark Horse Pick
Martin Truex Jr. has also flexed his muscles today here at Watkins Glen. He drove his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota to a Top-5 spot in Happy Hour with a lap time of 70.203 seconds, also better than the previous qualifying track record. Both times Truex has started in the Top 20 at WGI, he has come home with a Top-10 finish. If Truex hits his marks tomorrow in qualifying, he has a car good enough to start inside the Top-10.
His record at Watkins Glen is nothing to shake a stick at. He averages a finish of 16.4 at The Glen, and does have a Top-5 here as well. I think Tuex has been knocking on the door all season, and he’s proved Michael Waltrip Racing has given him a car to run towards the front on Sunday.
That wraps it up for today from The Glen. Stay tuned tomorrow for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 recaps.
Until tomorrow…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
