Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin received the pole place for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — taking to the monitor twice in Saturday’s ultimate qualifying session alone and bettering his already field-best pace in his second outing.
This is the fourth pole place of the season and third street course pole — additionally at Sonoma, Calif. and Chicago Street Race — for Hamlin, whose No. 11 JGR Toyota turned a lap of 125.298 mph across the 3.45-mile, 11-turn course in picturesque upstate New York.
“I really feel assured within the pace of my automotive,” stated Hamlin, whose solely NASCAR Cup Series street course win got here at Watkins Glen in 2016.
“I nonetheless assume within the top-10 there’s perhaps seven higher street course drivers total placing all of the laps collectively and pace. But I believe monitor place is the largest issue over all that so it is as much as me to ensure I execute initially of the race after which set the tone from there, have good pit stops, have good technique and let’s examine the place we’re at.”
Hamlin will begin alongside Hendrick Motorsports’ driver William Byron on the entrance row — besting Byron’s mark within the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet by a slight .19-second. Last week’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course winner Michael McDowell will begin third, adopted by Hamlin’s JGR rookie teammate Ty Gibbs and two-time defending race winner, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.
Road course ace A.J. Allmendinger, of Kaulig Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie rounded out the top-10. It’s the profession finest qualifying effort for LaJoie, who will roll off tenth within the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott was amongst people who didn’t advance previous first spherical qualifying. He was sixth quickest in Group A with solely the highest 5 transferring to the ultimate spherical session and his pace will place him fifteenth on Sunday’s grid.
Elliott was understandably annoyed Saturday about his qualifying exhibiting contemplating he is ranked nineteenth within the standings with the highest 16 advancing to the Playoffs. With two regular-season races remaining the previous sequence champion might want to win a race to advance to his ninth-consecutive Playoffs. And Watkins Glen has been a productive venue for the 2021 champion. He received back-to-back races right here in 2018-19; the 2018 victory his first ever on the NASCAR Cup Series degree.
“Unfortunate,” Elliott stated of his qualifying run Saturday, noting he was very disenchanted after having proven good tempo in observe.
“Our prep coming in was really good,” Elliott said. ” William had a variety of tempo there in order that’s good, hopefully I can determine find out how to drive the car sooner.
“Daytona, to show up there [next week] and it be a must-win situation is like going to Vegas and having to hit the nearest slot machine for the jackpot,” Elliott continued. “That’s simply foolish. To me, that is alternative now we have probably the most management over and did not have an excellent begin to the weekend so it places you in a troublesome spot.
“It’s nobody’s fault however mine that we’re within the spot we’re in. Hate it, however it’s what it’s and we’ll battle tomorrow to the final lap and hopefully one thing will fall our approach.”
Bubba Wallace, who at present holds the ultimate sixteenth Playoff switch place will begin twelfth. Daniel Suárez, who’s in seventeenth place within the championship 28 – factors behind Wallace, will begin 14th.
Martin Truex Jr., who at present leads the NASCAR Cup Series championship by 60-points over Hamlin, will begin nineteenth on Sunday.
SUAREZ OPTIMISTIC AND POISED
Suarez heads into Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, 28 factors behind Bubba Wallace — within the first place exterior the Playoff-eligible prime 16 drivers. The solely NASCAR Cup Series victory of his profession got here on a street course (Sonoma, Calif.) final yr and the driving force of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet arrives in upstate New York for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen feeling very optimistic.
A victory this week or in subsequent week’s common season finale at Daytona International Speedway could be an automated Playoff entry. Yet, Suarez’s strategy is that he does not need the group specializing in making the Playoffs, the 31-year outdated Mexican driver needs them to be targeted on successful the championship – the 2 objectives going hand-in-hand, clearly. And he is been good at The Glen with three top-five finishes in 5 begins and a mean end of 12.0.
It appeared as if Suarez was headed for that Playoff ticket on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course final weekend. He received pole place, led six of the 82 laps – and was up entrance all race – however a miscue on a pit cease value him and was by no means capable of critically problem winner Michael McDowell afterward.
Following the occasion Suarez stated he had the “longest meeting ever” along with his pit crew.
“That 23-second stop should have been 15-second and if it was, I would have won the race,” Suarez said, adding, “We failed at Indianapolis, however success comes from failure.
“I can inform you my pit crew is hungry, I’m hungry and my engineers are hungry. I can inform you we’re in place to battle.”
“The 99-team is prepared for battle,” he added with a smile.
Truex acknowledged there’s a sense of familiarity between this season and his unimaginable 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship run. He at present holds a 60-point benefit over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin in second place.
All Truex wants is to depart Watkins Glen with a 61-point benefit to formally declare the common season title — his second. Asked if this season – three victories plus the Busch Light Clash win and 9 top-five finishes — was on par with how he felt in his 2017 run for glory, Truex conceded there have been similarities.
“I feel like in our years where we won our championship or finished second and were right there it was kind of the same feeling,” Truex said. “Every week was okay, we’re proper there and if we do every little thing proper, we’ll be within the hunt for the win. Yeah, that feels good and hopefully we will hold that up for the following 12 races.”
ROOKIE MAGIC
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Gibbs is trying to change into solely the sixth NASCAR Cup Series rookie to earn a place within the Playoffs. He begins Sunday’s race ranked nineteenth – 49 factors off the cutline – basically needing a victory both this week at Watkins Glen or subsequent week within the Daytona International Speedway season finale to safe an opportunity on the 2023 championship run.
Gibbs received the 2021 Xfinity Series race right here at Watkins Glen and might be one in every of 4 NASCAR Cup Series drivers to compete on this weekend’s doubleheader – and he began the weekend off by successful the pole place for Saturday afternoon’s Xfinity Series race and incomes a fourth place place on the grid for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.
In talking with the media on Saturday, Gibbs insisted that though he basically has two races remaining to safe a Playoff place, he prepares for each race the identical; not permitting himself to get any extra intense for these final two Playoff pictures.
“I really feel like I put together the identical for each race and with my little expertise within the Cup Series in comparison with these guys, I’ve to work actually arduous at it and attempt to simply do one of the best I can and go win,” stated Gibbs, who drives the No. 54 JGR Toyota.
“I was closer than I am now,” he said of losing points in the last couple weeks. “But it is actually cool and I’m very blessed to be on this place and I’ve acquired an incredible group round me and it could be nice to make the Playoffs.
“I think you just go win or you somehow have great points days.”
AUSTIN HILL RE-UPS WITH RCR
Richard Childress Racing began the Watkins Glen race weekend off with an necessary announcement, the group has re-signed NASCAR Xfinity Series championship chief Austin Hill extending his contract via an undisclosed variety of years.
Hill, who drives the No. 21 RCR Chevrolet, stated a number of groups had reached out to him however that finally it got here right down to loyalty and a stable relationship with the championship proprietor Childress. The contract consists of no less than a full 2024 Xfinity Series drive, however indicated if RCR acquired a 3rd NASCAR Cup Series constitution, issues might change.
“At the tip of the day, Richard made it fairly powerful on me, simply due to the person he’s and every little thing we did final season and this season collectively” stated Hill, who holds an 11-point edge on John Hunter Nemechek for the common season championship with 4 races to go within the common season.
“I’m just very very loyal to a fault and I think Richard and I share the same values, like the same things and it makes it very easy to work with someone like Richard Childress… There’s a lot of things outside of just driving the race car that made sense to me and that’s what made it — at the end of the day, an easy decision — to stay here with RCR and to kind of keep building that momentum with them going forward and hopefully get to do that for a really long time.”
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Go Bowling at The Glen
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Saturday, August 19, 2023
1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 125.298 mph.
2. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 124.961 mph.
3. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 124.949 mph.
4. (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 124.890 mph.
5. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 124.874 mph.
6. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 124.645 mph.
7. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 124.395 mph.
8. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 124.187 mph.
9. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 124.089 mph.
10. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 123.835 mph.
11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 0.000 mph.
12. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
13. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 0.000 mph.
14. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
15. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
17. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 0.000 mph.
18. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
19. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 0.000 mph.
20. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
21. (42) Mike Rockenfeller, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
22. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
23. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 0.000 mph.
24. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 0.000 mph.
25. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 0.000 mph.
26. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 0.000 mph.
27. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 0.000 mph.
28. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
29. (15) Andy Lally, Ford, 0.000 mph.
30. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 0.000 mph.
31. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
32. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 0.000 mph.
33. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 0.000 mph.
34. (51) Cole Custer(i), Ford, 0.000 mph.
35. (78) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
36. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
