WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – For the first time since 2010, Team Penske failed to secure the pole at Watkins Glen Int’l during NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying on Saturday.
In unsurprising fashion, it was all-time series wins leader Kyle Busch who ended the Penske run of eight-straight poles at The Glen, posting a time of one minute, 11.098 seconds (124.054 mph) around the 2.54-mile, seven-turn permanent circuit.
It was his first Xfinity Series pole of the season and the 66th of his career.
Busch’s lap was more than six tenths of a second better than Austin Cindric, who will join Busch on the front row for the Zippo 200 at The Glen in a Penske-prepared Ford Mustang.
Cindric’s time of 1:11.768 (122.896 mph) was the only other lap in the one minute, 11 second bracket.
Ryan Blaney, driving a second Penske entry, will start third alongside Christopher Bell. Defending series champion Tyler Reddick completed the top five as the fastest Chevrolet driver in qualifying.
Starting sixth through 10th, respectively, are Chase Briscoe, A.J. Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones.
Cole Custer, one of the season’s Big Three, will start a disappointing 13th on Saturday afternoon. Also mired deep in the field is JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson in 18th place.
The Zippo 200 at The Glen will go green at 3 p.m. ET, with live coverage on NBC, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
STARTING LINEUP: NASCAR Xfinity Series; Watkins Glen Int’l; Aug. 3, 2019
- Kyle Busch
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Blaney
- Christopher Bell
- Tyler Reddick
- Chase Briscoe
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Ryan Preece
- Justin Allgaier
- Brandon Jones
- Jeremy Clements
- Justin Haley
- Cole Custer
- Michael Annett
- Gray Gaulding
- Josh Bilicki
- Ryan Sieg
- Noah Gragson
- Ross Chastain
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Alex Labbe
- Tommy Joe Martins
- Scott Heckert
- Ray Black Jr.
- JJ Yeley
- Cody Ware
- Brandon Brown
- Stephen Leicht
- Garrett Smithley
- Josh Williams
- Stanton Barrett
- David Starr
- BJ McLeod
- Dan Corcoran
- Chad Finchum
- Joey Gase
- Vinnie Miller