Ambrose grabs front row start at The Glen


Ambrose will start second at Watkins Glen
Marcos Ambrose has been pipped by Jeff Gordon for the pole in the Sprint Cup Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.
Gordon, a four-time Watkins Glen International winner, scored his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, topping Sprint Cup Series qualifying at the road course in Watkins Glen.
Ambrose set a new qualifying track record in the first round of qualifying with an average speed of 208.3956km/h (129.491 mph). However, in the final top-12 run-off Gordon set a speed of 208.355km/h (129.466 mph).
“I am very proud of my RPM team and everyone. It has been a great weekend for us so far,” said Ambrose.
“I wish Jeff was a little kinder to me to let me get the pole. I thought we had it at the end but it wasn’t enough.
“It was a pretty good lap though and I will take it. You have to be happy with front row starts. Jeff is a fantastic road racer and I have watched a lot of races here where he dominated. He is having a standout year.
“You can’t discount anybody out there. Anyone in that Top-12 if they had gotten the pole I wouldn’t have been surprised.”
Danica Patrick, who will start at the tail of the field because of an engine change, treated qualifying as a practice in her backup car. She placed 43rd.
QUALIFYING: Cheez-It 355 at The Glen
Pos | CAR | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | MPH | BEST TIME | BEHIND |
1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 129.466 | 68.126 | Leader |
2 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 129.138 | 68.299 | –0.173 |
3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 128.968 | 68.389 | –0.263 |
4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 128.859 | 68.447 | –0.321 |
5 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 128.816 | 68.470 | –0.344 |
6 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | Scott Products | 128.701 | 68.531 | –0.405 |
7 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | National Guard | 128.186 | 68.806 | –0.680 |
8 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Dollar General | 128.179 | 68.810 | –0.684 |
9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 128.052 | 68.878 | –0.752 |
10 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 127.867 | 68.978 | –0.852 |
11 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 127.761 | 69.035 | –0.909 |
12 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 127.510 | 69.171 | –1.045 |
13 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 | 128.205 | 68.796 | –0.670 |
14 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald’s | 128.131 | 68.836 | –0.710 |
15 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | BRANDT Professional Agriculture | 128.026 | 68.892 | –0.766 |
16 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Kelloggs / Cheez-it | 127.839 | 68.993 | –0.867 |
17 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 127.782 | 69.024 | –0.898 |
18 | 26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | Bully Hill Vineyeards Toyota Camry | 127.715 | 69.060 | –0.934 |
19 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 127.575 | 69.136 | –1.010 |
20 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Splash / Menards | 127.573 | 69.137 | –1.011 |
21 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | 127.562 | 69.143 | –1.017 |
22 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 127.322 | 69.273 | –1.147 |
23 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | Target | 127.309 | 69.280 | –1.154 |
24 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | RK Motors Charlotte | 127.278 | 69.297 | –1.171 |
25 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Furniture Row | 127.245 | 69.315 | –1.189 |
26 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Dockside Logistics | 127.243 | 69.316 | –1.190 |
27 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Smithfield | 127.197 | 69.341 | –1.215 |
28 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 127.192 | 69.344 | –1.218 |
29 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | K-LOVE Radio | 127.177 | 69.352 | –1.226 |
30 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 127.012 | 69.442 | –1.316 |
31 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | Dow | 126.819 | 69.548 | –1.422 |
32 | 77 | Nelson Piquet Jr | Ford | WORX | 126.715 | 69.605 | –1.479 |
33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Long John Silver’s | 126.704 | 69.611 | –1.485 |
34 | 32 | Boris Said | Ford | Genny Light | 126.571 | 69.684 | –1.558 |
35 | 83 | Ryan Truex | Toyota | Burger King Toyota Camry | 126.508 | 69.719 | –1.593 |
36 | 23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry | 125.824 | 70.098 | –1.972 |
37 | 98 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | Phil Parsons Racing | 125.566 | 70.242 | –2.116 |
38 | 33 | Alex Kennedy | Chevrolet | Media Cast | 125.266 | 70.410 | –2.284 |
39 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | TBA | 125.122 | 70.491 | –2.365 |
40 | 66 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | Land Castle Title | 125.101 | 70.503 | –2.377 |
41 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Newtown Building Supplies | 124.986 | 70.568 | –2.442 |
42 | 7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | Pilot / Flying J Chevrolet | 124.981 | 70.571 | –2.445 |
43 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | GoDaddy | 124.956 | 70.585 | –2.459 |
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