Stewart-Haas Racing: 355k at The Glen Qualifying Report from Watkins Glen
By Max Papis Racing | August 10, 2013 at 10:09 pmSTEWART-HAAS RACING 355k at The Glen Qualifying
Date: Aug. 10, 2013
Event: 355k at The Glen Qualifying (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (2.45-mile, 11-turn road course)
Pole Winner: Marcos Ambrose of Richard Petty Motorsports (68.777 seconds at 128.241 mph – new track record)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (14th, 69.577 seconds at 126.766 mph)
Max Papis (29th, 70.229 seconds at 125.589 mph)
Danica Patrick (35th, 71.273 seconds at 123.750 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Saturday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International by qualifying 14thfor the 355k at The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Newman turned a lap of 69.577 seconds at 126.766 mph around the 2.45-mile, 11-turn road course.
“I probably could’ve done a better job of putting my two laps together,” said Newman, who has a best finish of second in 2002 to go along with two other top-10 finishes in 11 previous Sprint Cup starts at Watkins Glen. “Still, that was a decent lap. We’ve been struggling a little bit with speed. Hopefully, our Haas Automation 30thAnniversary Chevrolet SS will be better on the long run than on the short run. It’s been a bit of a speed struggle this weekend, but we were certainly better in qualifying than we were in practice. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Max Papis, interim driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, will start 29th after posting a lap of 70.229 seconds at 125.589 mph.
“The biggest obstacle for me was definitely going to be qualifying because I don’t do this very often,” said Papis, who won the 2004 Sahlen’s Sports Car Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in the Daytona Prototype division of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. “I got a little too greedy in turn two. I definitely got it better on the third lap, but the tires were gone. I have really good confidence. I improved my speed every time. Definitely in qualifying, I left something on the table. But, I’m proud of my effort and I’m proud of how much better we made the car. I really feel we can do something special from where we are going to start.”
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, qualified 35th after clocking in at 71.273 seconds at 123.750 mph.
“The car turned a lot better than yesterday,” said Patrick, who has six IZOD IndyCar Series starts at Watkins Glen, but none in Sprint Cup. “It was loose, but improved from yesterday, for sure. I think we’ve made good gains with the GoDaddy Chevy. I’m ready for tomorrow. It should be a good race.”
Marcos Ambrose captured his third career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his first at Watkins Glen by turning a lap of 68.777 seconds at 128.241 mph, breaking the previous Sprint Cup track qualifying record of 69.438 seconds at 127.020 mph set by Juan Pablo Montoya on Aug. 11, 2012.
Clint Bowyer will start on the outside of row one after clocking in at 68.929 seconds at 127.958 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was third (69.197 seconds at 127.462 mph), while A.J. Allmendinger (69.213 seconds at 127.433 mph) and Kyle Busch (69.231 seconds at 127.400 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-three drivers attempted to qualify for the 355k at The Glen. All made the race since there are 43 starting positions in a Sprint Cup field.
Ford took the top spot among manufacturers via Ambrose’ pole run. Toyota was next-best at the hands of Bowyer. Chevrolet was the third-fastest make thanks to sixth-fastest Jamie McMurray (69.245 seconds at 127.374 mph).
The 355k at The Glen gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at noon.