Gordon Wins Sprint Cup Pole at The Glen

WATKINS GLEN, NY – RIS – Jeff Gordon barely beat out Marcos Ambrose for the pole position for Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen. Gordon holds the record for most road course wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but his last victory at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International came in 2001.

 He’ll have an excellent opportunity to change that in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen starting from the pole.

 Marcos Ambrose set a track qualifying record in Round 1 (129.491 mph) on Saturday but Gordon’s average lap at 129.466 mph was enough to top Ambrose in Round 2.

 “I’m pumped, this gives us a lot of confidence. I think today does make a statement,” said Gordon, who has now won at least one pole for the 22nd consecutive season and won the 75th of his career.

 “We didn’t do too much in qualifying runs. Just the way we struggled here in the last couple years. This has been one of our toughest tracks, then to start the weekend off with a pole. Heck after today, I believe anything is possible.”

 Jimmie Johnson qualified third, Kevin Harvick fourth and Kurt Busch fifth.

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed

Row 1: 1 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet 68.126 129.466
2 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 68.299 129.138
Row 2: 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 68.389 128.968
4 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 68.447 128.859
Row 3: 5 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 68.470 128.816
6 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet 68.531 128.701
Row 4: 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet 68.806 128.186
8 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 68.810 128.179
Row 5: 9 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 68.878 128.052
10 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 68.978 127.867
Row 6: 11 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 69.035 127.761
12 55 Brian Vickers Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 69.171 127.510
Row 7: 13 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 68.796 128.205
14 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet 68.836 128.131
Row 8: 15 51 Justin Allgaier # Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet 68.892 128.026
16 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg's/Cheez-It Ford 68.993 127.839
Row 9: 17 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 69.024 127.782
18 26 Cole Whitt # Bully Hill Vineyards Toyota 69.060 127.715
Row 10: 19 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 69.136 127.575
20 27 Paul Menard Splash/Menards Chevrolet 69.137 127.573
Row 11: 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford EcoBoost Ford 69.143 127.562
22 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 69.273 127.322
Row 12: 23 42 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet 69.280 127.309
24 15 Clint Bowyer RK Motors Charlotte Toyota 69.297 127.278
Row 13: 25 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet 69.315 127.245
26 34 David Ragan Dockside Logistics Ford 69.316 127.243
Row 14: 27 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 69.341 127.197
28 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 69.344 127.192
Row 15: 29 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Ford 69.352 127.177
30 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 69.442 127.012
Row 16: 31 3 Austin Dillon # Dow Chevrolet 69.548 126.819
32 77 Nelson Piquet Jr. WORX Ford 69.605 126.715
Row 17: 33 38 David Gilliland Long John Silver's Ford 69.611 126.704
34 32 Boris Said Genny Light Ford 69.684 126.571
Row 18: 35 83 Ryan Truex # Burger King Toyota 69.719 126.508
36 23 Alex Bowman # Dustless Blasting Toyota 70.098 125.824
Row 19: 37 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet Owner Points
38 33 Alex Kennedy MediaCAST Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 20: 39 36 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet Owner Points
40 66 Joe Nemechek(i) Land Castle Title Toyota Owner Points
Row 21: 41 40 Landon Cassill(i) Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet Owner Points
42 7 Michael Annett # Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 22: 43 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet Owner Points
Did Not Qualify: None.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series