Marcos Ambrose took a big step toward winning his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen when he secured the pole-position in time trials for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355.
NASCAR Watkins Glen 2013 qualifying results: Ambrose smashes track-record, secures pole
A record lap in qualifying puts Marcos Ambrose on the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Watkins Glen.
Mark Wilson
The No. 1 effort in qualifying was the third of Ambrose’s Cup career, but the first of this season. His lap time of 128.241 mph broke the track-record set last year by Juan Pablo Montoya.
“It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t the cleanest lap I could have done, but it certainly carried a lot of momentum and it was enough to get the job done,” Ambrose said.
With a victory Sunday, Ambrose would join Mark Martin (1993-1995) and Jeff Gordon (1997-1999) as the only drivers to win three straight races on the 2.45-mile road course.
Starting directly behind Ambrose will be a pair of Michael Waltrip Racing drivers in Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. They’ll start second and third, respectively, with AJ Allmendinger and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will lineup 25th while Max Papis, who is subbing for the injured Tony Stewart, struggled and posted just the 29th-fastest time.
The Cheez-It 355 at The Glen will take the green flag Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Starting Lineup
1) Marcos Ambrose
2) Clint Bowyer
3) Martin Truex Jr.
4) AJ Allmendinger
5) Kyle Busch
6) Jamie McMurray
7) Paul Menard
8) Brad Keselowski
9) Joey Logano
10) Matt Kenseth
11) Juan Pablo Montoya
12) Michael McDowell
13) Kurt Busch
14) Ryan Newman
15) Brian Vickers
16) Carl Edwards
17) Greg Biffle
18) Jimmie Johnson
19) Kasey Kahne
20) Denny Hamlin
21) David Gilliland
22) Jeff Burton
23) Owen Kelly
24) Ron Fellows
25) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
26) Kevin Harvick
27) Boris Said
28) Jeff Gordon
29) Max Papis
30) Casey Mears
31) David Ragan
32) Aric Almirola
33) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
34) Victor Gonzalez Jr.
35) Danica Patrick
36) David Reutimann
37) Alex Kennedy
38) Travis Kvapil
39) David Stremme
40) Dave Blaney
41) Landon Cassill
42) Tomy Drissi
43) Brian Keselowski
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