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Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney won pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas. His lap of 2:12.343 m/s around the 3.4-mile-long road course was the best qualifying time among 10 drivers in Round 2 of Saturday’s qualifying.
The 28-year-old became the first driver to secure multiple pole wins in the 2022 season after he won his first at Phoenix Raceway.
Speaking to the media, the driver of #12 Ford Mustang felt that the practice had put him in a great state of mind for Sunday’s race and went on to say:
“I didn’t have a lot of time today to get up to speed but it was unique to feel these new cars. I feel like we can hustle them pretty good. The braking zones are big and you can abuse the curbs to an extent. It was good to get a good bit of practice today. I think these things will put on a good race tomorrow. I am looking forward to it.”
Further in a conversation, speaking about the 3.4-mile-long Circuit of the Americas road course, Blaney said:
“This place is a lot of fun. It is a really fast road course with a lot of elevation changes and last year when we were racing in the rain you don’t notice the elevation changes or how unique the track is because you are worried about the rain and staying on the race track. It has been cool to digest everything here with it in prime conditions and getting to learn this current Gen car.”
The pole comes after Blaney’s #12 made contact with the wall in Saturday's practice at Turn 10. Despite going through the gravel trap and into the tire barrier, he escaped serious damage in the incident.
Who joined Ryan Blaney on the front row for Sunday’s race?
Trackhouse Racing team driver Daniel Suarez will join Ryan Blaney on the front row. He scored the second-best qualifying time of 2 minutes, 12.369 seconds in Round 2.
Suarez’s second-place finish for Sunday’s pole position was the best for his two-year-old team.
Row 2 features Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick. Behind them in Row 3 will be Alex Bowman and Joey Logano. Similarly, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Justin Haley, Austin Cindric, and other drivers will take their respective rows.
