Ryan Blaney can't ignore his road course haunting at Watkins Glen despite perfect qualifying

Ryan Blaney will start from pole in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen after a 71.960-second lap (122.568 mph) in qualifying. The Team Penske driver beat road course ace Shane van Gisbergen, but is well aware of his road racing capabilities.

It was Blaney's second Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Watkins Glen International, and only the second of his career on a road course.

"Ninety laps is going to be a little harder to beat him tomorrow, but gotta start somewhere. It's more neat for me because we had an absolutely abysmal weekend here last year," Blaney said via NASCAR after qualifying.

The comment was a nod to the reality of Sunday's challenge. SVG has dominated road racing in 2025, winning Cup Series races in Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma. He's the favorite again, while Ryan Blaney is still looking to turn his road course work into results.

Ryan Blaney after winning the pole in Go Bowling at The Glen. Source: Getty

Blaney has yet to score a top-10 in the season’s four road course events and hasn’t finished inside the top five on one since the Indianapolis Road Course in 2021.

"I consider myself a pretty average road-course racer and I've worked really hard on trying to get better, where can I improve my driving skills and styles and compete a little bit more at these places, and it’s neat when that all comes together," Blaney added. "Tomorrow is a whole different task, but it's nice to have done our job really well today and now about focusing on trying to make 90 good laps tomorrow."

Ryan Blaney has just one road course win in his Cup career, and at Watkins Glen specifically, only one top-five finish in eight starts. For all the promise of Saturday's lap, Sunday is still about shaking off a history that's been more frustration than celebration.

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Ryan Blaney looks to rewrite his road course record at Watkins Glen

Ryan Blaney (12) during Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Source: Getty

Sunday's Go Bowling at The Glen will be run over 90 laps (220.5 miles) with stage breaks at laps 20, 40, and 90. Ryan Blaney's Team Penske stablemates will start mid-pack - Austin Cindric from 13th and Joey Logano from 11th - but all three cars have shown speed in practice.

Blaney is already locked into the playoffs thanks to his Nashville win earlier this season, which allows him to attack more aggressively. He also arrives on the back of three straight top-10 finishes, including fourth at Iowa Corn last weekend.

Pole position will be critical. Shane Van Gisbergen has started from pole in each of the other three road course Cup races this season and won them all. Blaney's best shot is to control the race from the front and survive the Watkins Glen restarts, where positioning out of Turn 1 can make or break a run.