Ryan Blaney was the only driver able to go faster than Shane van Gisbergen in NASCAR Cup qualifying at Watkins Glen, besting the road course ace for pole by just 0.033s. It was the 150th Cup pole for Team Penske.
"I'm happy I'm talking to you," said Blaney to the broadcast team after qualifying. "Man, what a cool pole. I would say I'm a pretty average road racer, and I work really hard to try and get better at it, so I'm really proud of the whole #12 group. Fun day just get better. We gotta find a little bit of race pace for tomorrow, but it's nice to have one-lap pace in it. It's pretty cool."
